
Class l__ 

Book. l 

Copyright}! . 



COPYRIGHT DEPOSfT. 



/ 



THE BOOK OF 
THE SAILBOAT 



By A. Hyatt Verrill 

The Real Story of the Whaler 
The Book of the Sailboat 
The Book of the Motor Boat 
Isles of Spice and Palm 



D. APPLETON AND COMPANY 

Publishers New York 




Fore-and-aft Sails and Rigs 

I — Leg-o'-mutton sail. 2 — Gunter sail. 3 — Lateen sail. 4 — Sprit 
sail. 5 — Lug sail. 6 — Boom-and-gaff sail. 7 — Cat rig. 8 — 
Jib-and-mainsail rig. 9 — Sloop rig. 10 — Yawl rig (Polemast). 
11 — Schooner rig (Polemast). 



I 



THE BOOK OF 
THE SAILBOAT 

HOW TO RIG, SAIL AND 
HANDLE SMALL BOATS 



BY 

A. HYATT VERRILL 

AUTHOR OF "THE BOOK OF THE MOTOR BOAT" 

"ISLES OF SPICE AND PALM," "THE REAL 

STORY OF THE WHALER" 




ILLUSTRATED 



D. APPLETON AND COMPANY 

NEW YORK LONDON 

1916 






COPTBIGHT, 1916, BY 

D. APPLETON AND COMPANY 




Printed in the United States of America 



Fhti 28 1916 
c)cu 427l ! ; ' 7 



CONTENTS 

CHAPTER PAGE 

I. A Short History of Boats 1 

The first boat. Rafts and canoes. Catamarans. 
Early forms of boats. Coracles and goofahs. The 
evolution of the sailboat. Types of modern boats. 
Schooners, sloops, ketches, catboats, round- and 
flat-bottomed boats. 

II. What Boat to Use 10 

Speed, stability and seaworthiness. Boats for 
various uses. Whale-boats, surf-boats, life-boats, 
fishing boats, oyster-boats, pilot-boats, spongers, 
skiffs, dories, skip-jacks, etc. 

HI. Parts of Boats 19 

Various parts of a boat's hull. Masts and spars. 
Blocks and tackle. Anchors and cables. Deck 
fittings. Cleats, chocks. Rudders, tillers, wheels, 
etc. Keels and centerboards. Leeboards. Ropes 
and standing rigging. What each is for. 

IV. Various Rigs 39 

Square-rigged vessels. Ships, barks, barkentines, 
brigs, brigantines, topsail-schooners, schooners. 
Ketch and yawl rigs. Sloop rigs. Catboats. 
Types of fore and aft sails. Latteen, lug, gunter, 
sprit, leg-o'-mutton and other sails. What rig to 
use. 



CONTENTS 

CHAPTER PAGE 

V. How to Sail a Small Boat 59 

First steps in learning to sail. Handling and sailing 
small boats. Getting under way. Sailing on the 
wind, tacking. Coming about. Sailing before the 
wind. Wearing ship. Jibing. Luffing. Reefing. 
Coming to a landing. Coming to anchor. 

VI. The Cabe op Boats 87 

Equipment. Anchors and safety appliances. Moor- 
ings. Sea anchors. Stowing sail. Care of boats 
and sails. Caulking, painting, etc. 

VII. Marlinspike Seamanship 102 

Ropes and their parts. Simple and useful knots. 
Splices. Bends and hitches. Ornamental knots. 

VIII. Simple Navigation 125 

Rules of the road at sea. Lights, beacons and 
signals. Buoys and lighthouses. Channels. Use 
of compass. Charts and their use. Dead reckoning. 
Logs. Sounding. Landmarks. Bearings. Currents 
and tides. Fogs. Stars. Winds and waves. Storms. 
Sailing in heavy weather. What to do in case of 
accident. 

IX. Building Small Boats 164 

The simplest boat to build. How to build a round- 
bottomed boat. Building from patterns. 

X. What not to Do 180 

Nautical Terms and Their Meanings .... 187 



LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS 



PAGE 

Fore-and-aft sails and rigs Frontispiece 

Primitive boats 2 

Types of small boats adapted to special uses ... 12 

Types of bows and sterns 22 

Keels, centerboards, leeboards and rudders .... 27 

Boat fittings and parts of boats 30 

Running rigging of fore-and-aft rig 34 

Standing rigging, masts, etc 36 

Various rigs . . .41 

Parts of rails, spars, etc., of fore-and-aft rig . . . .43 

Ketch rig. Cat yawl rig 45 

Sails of square-rigged vessels . 48 

Hull, spars and rigging of a ship ...... 52 

Effect of wind on boats of various forms .... 63 

Sailing 71 

Reefing a sail 84 

Caulking tools 93 

Anchors 96 

Useful knots and splices 105 

Ornamental knots 116 

Ropework 121 

Rules of the road and buoys 129 

Harbor chart showing lights, buoys, channels, soundings, 

bearings, bottom, etc 136 

Use of compass in boat 140 

Compasses 143 

Effect of waves on stability 151 

Building a flat-bottomed boat . . . . . . . 171 



THE BOOK OF 
THE SAILBOAT 



CHAPTER I 

A SHORT HISTORY OF BOATS 

No one knows who first invented boats. Probably 
they were used by primitive man long before he dis- 
covered how to use bows and arrows or had even 
learned to chip stones into simple tools and weapons. 
But those early boats were not boats as we know them 
today, for it has taken untold centuries for mankind 
to improve and develop boats to their present state of 
perfection. It was a natural and easy matter for a 
savage to straddle a floating log and, thus supported, 
cross some pond or stream, and when some member 
of the tribe discovered that two logs lashed together 
were more comfortable and less likely to roll over 
and dump their passengers into the water than a single 
log, he no doubt felt as if he had made a marvelous 
invention and was probably looked upon as a prehis- 
toric Fulton by his f ellowmen. 

Later on some man found that a hollowed log was 
more buoyant and stable than an ordinary tree trunk 
and from this crude beginning rude dugout canoes 



2 THE BOOK OF THE SAILBOAT 

were developed. Even today many races have never 
progressed beyond the hollowed-log state of boat- 
building and dugouts, forty or fifty feet in length and 
capable of carrying great weights, are in daily use 
in many lands. Some of these are very crude, heavy 
craft, while others are beautifully made, are light in 
weight and are very speedy and seaworthy. 




Primitive Boats 
I — Dugout made from a log. 2 — Birch bark canoe. 3 — Eskimo 
kyak made of skins. 4 — Catamaran. 5 — Turkish goofah. 6 — 
East Indian balsa. 7 — Malay proa. 

Quite a different type of savage craft were the 
canoes of bark or skins. These may have been evolved 
from dugouts but it is more likely that accident or 
chance led to their discovery. A piece of floating 
bark bearing some wild animal or bird may have 
pointed the way toward the graceful birchbark canoes 
of the American Indians, while a stiff piece of dried 



A SHORT HISTORY OF BOATS 3 

hide may have given the first hint of a kyak to the 
Eskimos. 

However, it is useless to speculate upon the inci- 
dents that led our primitive and savage ancestors along 
the path to the shipyard for such matters are shrouded 
in the impenetrable mists of the dim and distant past. 
We know, however, that nearly every race possessed 
boats of one kind or another as long ago as there 
was any history and we know that the boats used 
thousands of years ago varied as greatly in construc- 
tion, form, materials and other details as boats of to- 
day. 

Strangely enough, many of the most primitive forms 
of boats are still in daily use. I have already men- 
tioned dugouts, but birchbark canoes and kyaks are 
also used at the present time as widely as ever. It is 
evident that some of these prehistoric craft had been 
developed to the utmost point of perfection before the 
advent of civilization for many of them have never 
been improved upon. With all our knowledge we 
have never found any boat so well adapted to its 
purpose as the red man's canoe, and while we now 
make them of canvas instead of bark, we follow the 
same models as those used by the Indians centuries 
ago. 

In certain parts of Great Britain the people still 
use the queer craft called coracles which Caesar found 
the Britons using when his Roman legions invaded 
Albion, and although these curious boats, that look 
like the shell of a turtle or half of a walnut shell and 
are made of plaited willow, are among the most an- 



4 THE BOOK OF THE SAILBOAT 

cient forms of boats, yet the Welsh find them superior 
to modern boats in many ways. Somewhat similar are 
the goofahs of the Orient, circular, basket-like craft 
made of willow wands and covered with pitch which 
are used upon the Tigris and Euphrates and have 
not changed in the least since Bible days. 

In the South Seas and other places the natives still 
use catamarans and proas which are really nothing but 
two logs fastened together, and yet the most efficient 
and safest of life rafts used by our greatest steam- 
ships are merely modifications of these same cata- 
marans. 

The purpose of any boat is to float and support its 
occupants while traveling across the water, and while 
it seems a far cry from the coracle or the dugout to 
a palatial steamship or a stately, four-masted, sailing 
ship, yet the principle of each is identical and each 
serves the purpose for which it was designed equally 
well ; it is merely a matter of improvement, and many 
of the terms and names of parts which were used by 
the earliest sailors are still retained on our greatest 
liners and largest sailing vessels. 

Starboard and larboard, for example, are merely 
corruptions of steerboard and leeboard, terms applied 
to- the two sides of the ships of the Vikings and refer- 
ring to the great steering oar on the right-hand side 
of the vessel and the board dropped over the opposite 
side to prevent the craft from making leeway or slid- 
ing sideways through the water. The bowsprit was 
originally a small spritsail spread to the vessel's bow ; 
the stem was once the steering; the name forecastle 



A SHORT HISTORY OF BOATS 5 

was given to the sailors' quarters when the deck- 
houses were literally castles in form, and we still 
speak of cockpits though we seldom stop to remember 
that the term was originally bestowed because this 
open portion of a boat resembled the circular areas 
wherein cockfights were held. 

The enormous steel frames which support the great 
plates of a steamship's sides are still as much ribs to 
the sailor as the flimsy bits of wood bent into place 
by the naked savage building his frail canoe, and 
scores of the ropes, sails, rigging and other portions 
of a ship's fabric retain their ancient names in a sim- 
ilar manner. The seaman is the most conservative 
of beings and adheres to every time-honored custom, 
belief and habit and when the last sailor and the last 
wooden ship have disappeared many of the terms and 
ways that were dear to the heart of Jack Tar will still 
live on and be perpetuated for all time. 

It is partly owing to this unwillingness on the part 
of the sailor to adopt anything new or unusual which 
has led to the survival of distinct forms of boats, for 
the" seaman and boatman of every country believed 
the craft of his own waters to be superior to those 
of any other place. In rig, sail and other details 
each race of maritime people has preserved the tradi- 
tions of their ancestors and even in neighboring local- 
ities we find boats which in form of hull, sails and 
rigging are absolutely distinct. Many of these are 
used only in one locality, one harbor or on one small 
island, but many others have been carried hither and 
thither and one can almost trace the history of a 



6 THE BOOK OF THE SAILBOAT 

country or the wanderings of its people by the types 
of boats used. 

Of course, the first boats were propelled by hand, 
either by pushing them along with poles or by rough 
paddles, but even naked savages soon learned that 
they could let the wind work for them and raised 
mats, skins or even bushes to catch the breeze and 
waft them across the water. But it was many, many 
centuries before man learned that he could do away 
with oars entirely and could sail in any direction, 
regardless of the way the wind blew. 

Even in the time of Columbus the ships could 
scarcely make headway against the wind and were 
more or less at the mercy of every passing breeze, 
but once sailors discovered the secret of sailing to 
windward the advance and improvement of ships and 
rigging was very rapid. The great, cumbersome, 
square sails of the earlier ships were divided into 
many pieces so as to be more readily handled and 
trimmed; triangular sails took the place of the pic- 
turesque spritsails on the vessels' bows; hulls were 
built lower and deeper and while the number of masts 
varied they were reduced until two- and three-masted, 
square-rigged vessels, known as brigs and ships, were 
the standard types of ocean-going craft. 

Among smaller vessels there were sloops, luggers, 
ketches and other types of fore-and-aft-rigged craft, 
and as these sails had many advantages over the 
square sails and their awkward yards they replaced the 
latter in some cases and thus barks, brigs and brigan- 
tines came into use. 



A SHORT HISTORY OF BOATS 7 

Then some brilliant sailor genius did away with the 
square sails altogether and a new type of vessel came 
into existence which was called a "schooner." But 
conservative, croaking Jack still pinned his faith to 
yards and square sails and for many years schooners 
carried lofty topsails of the same form as the upper 
sails of square-rigged ships. 

Today the fore-and-aft-rigged vessels are more 
numerous than all other rigs combined and the square- 
riggers, stately and beautiful as they were — the hand- 
somest vessels ever built by man — have been almost 
driven from the seas. With the outbreak of the Euro- 
pean War and the demand for ocean-going cargo- 
carriers the old square-riggers have once more come 
to the fore, and in ports and harbors where a cross- 
yard mast had not been seen for many years, barks, 
ships and square-rigged vessels now line the docks and 
are an "everyday sight. But they are only temporary 
and every boy and man who loves the sea and its ships 
should take advantage of this opportunity to view a 
passing type of vessels and should learn all about 
them, their rigging and their sails, for to them we owe 
much of our commerce and prosperity, our independ- 
ence and our progress. 

Although the cheaper, more easily handled and 
more simple schooners forced the square-rigged ships 
into the background, and while these in turn have been 
largely superseded by steam for deep-water voyages, 
yet the small boat has held its own throughout the 
centuries. In form, rig and other details the small 
boats of today vary as widely as ever, for small boats 



8 THE BOOK OF THE SAILBOAT 

are designed and used for specific purposes and no 
one can say which is the best boat or the handiest rig-. 

Steam and motor boats have taken the place of 
sailboats for business purposes in many places, but 
as long as men love the sea, as long as they enjoy the 
sting of the salt spray and the thrill of a plunging 
bow, as long as our eyes brighten and our pulses 
quicken as we grasp tiller and sheet and lee rails are 
awash, so long will the small boat hold its own. We 
may conquer distance by steam, we may annihilate time 
by paper-like hulls loaded with roaring] motors of 
gigantic power, we may travel in floating palaces 
called yachts, but nothing will ever be made by man 
to take the place of the small boat for the out-and-out 
pleasure and perfect enjoyment it gives the true boat- 
lover. 

Although there is an endless variety of hulls and 
rigs among small boats they may all be divided into 
a few general classes. In form of hull most boats 
may be grouped under two broad types: round-bot- 
tomed and flat-bottomed boats, but there are intermedi- 
ate forms and there are also some kinds of boats which 
are a sort of hybrid or combination of both. 

In rig we have the schooner, ketch, yawl, sloop and 
cat and while these cover the matter in a general way 
there is a wonderful variety in the sails, rigging and 
other details, and many boats which possess great 
advantages cannot be properly classed in any of these 
groups. 

The best boat to use and the best rig to adopt de- 
pend largely upon the purpose of the boat and its 



A SHORT HISTORY OF BOATS 9 

rig, the place where it is to be used, the owner's abil- 
ity as a sailor, the weather likely to be encountered, 
the character of the neighboring shores and waters 
and various other conditions. 

In order to select intelligently the best boat for 
your use it is necessary to consider the various types 
of hull and rig, their advantages and disadvantages 
and the purposes for which they are intended, and 
then, knowing these things, select the one which you 
think best adapted to your own requirements. 



CHAPTER II 



WHAT BOAT TO USE 



Through countless centuries since man first made 
and used boats, an almost infinite variety of craft 
has been developed. In every land where boats of 
any sort are used the inhabitants have gradually 
evolved boats adapted to their special needs, the con- 
ditions of their seas or water courses and the work in 
which the boats are to be used. 

In a great many countries the types of boats in 
use today have not changed or altered for hundreds 
of years, but in many other places forms, construction 
and other details of the boats have been changed, 
ideas from other lands or races have been adopted and 
we now find a great many different kinds of boats 
used for the same purpose. Moreover, with the mi- 
gration of man from one place to another, boats of 
one nation have been introduced to the people of other 
lands and sometimes, in one locality, we may find boats 
from widely separated parts of the world being used 
daily side by side. 

10 



WHAT BOAT TO USE 11 

Of course these remarks apply mainly to boats used 
for commercial or business purposes for wherevter 
boats are used for pleasure one may find an infinite 
variety of craft whose models have been culled from 
every corner of the maritime world. 

In every case, however, there are certain definite 
reasons for one type of boat being more generally 
used than another, and every boat-builder and user, 
since boats were first invented, has aimed to combine 
certain qualities in the construction of boats. 

The three most important matters to be considered 
in any boat are seaworthiness, stability and speed. 
Which of these is of the greatest importance depends 
very largely upon the local conditions, the purposes 
for which the boat is to be used and the ideas of its 
builder or owner. 

In some places speed is the prime consideration, 
in other places seaworthiness is the most important 
factor, while in still other localities the ability to 
carry heavy loads and not sink or upset is of more 
value than either speed or the power to resist winds 
and waves safely. 

Thus the men who depend upon piloting vessels 
to an anchorage and whose earnings are large or 
small according to whether or not they reach the 
incoming vessels first, must have fast boats and sea- 
worthiness may be a secondary consideration. Again 
the toilers of the sea who spend days upon the stormiest 
oceans fishing, lobstering or in similar pursuits must 
have boats which are safe in any weather and speed 
is of little importance, while those who use boats for 



12 



THE BOOK OF THE SAILBOAT 



transporting heavy cargoes or many passengers from 
place to place in fairly smooth waters, find stability 
of greater value than either speed or seaworthiness. 

Many times, however, in fact, as a general rule, the 
most seaworthy boats are the most stable, while usu- 
ally both stability and seaworthiness must be sacrificed 




Types of Small Boats Adapted to Special Uses 

I — Whaleboat. 2 — Lifeboat. 3 — Dory. 4 — Sharpie. 5 — Skiojack. 
6 — Block Island boat. 

to a certain degree in order to obtain great speed. 
But there are exceptions to all rules and many boats 
have become world-famous because they combine all 
these three qualifications to a remarkable degree. 

The zvhaleboats used by the Yankee whalemen for 
chasing and capturing whales, are splendid examples 
of this. These boats are light, strong, stable, sea- 



WHAT BOAT TO USE 13 

worthy and very fast and in these respects are prob- 
ably the most perfect type of small craft ever designed. 
They are thirty feet in length and six feet wide, barely 
two feet in depth amidships and yet are capable 
of breasting the heaviest waves of midocean, with- 
standing the most terrific gales and weathering the 
most severe storms of any seas. Pulled by five oars 
they attain the speed of a motor boat; they are light 
enough to be pulled upon a beach or easily hoisted to a 
ship's davits. They sail rapidly, are easily handled 
and hold together when towed at express-train speed 
by a harpooned whale. 

Moreover, their construction is so simple that even 
when smashed or "stove" by a whale they can be 
repaired easily by a carpenter and best of all they are 
very cheap, a new whaleboat costing complete only 
one hundred and twenty-five dollars. In these boats 
shipwrecked whalers have made some marvelous voy- 
ages and several instances are on record of men navi- 
gating the stormiest parts of the ocean for six thou- 
sand miles in these boats in perfect safety. 

Somewhat similar to the whaleboats in shape are 
the surfboats used on the coasts of many sea-girt 
localities, notably on the Atlantic seaboard of our 
Middle States, and while not as speedy, light or 
staunch as the whaleboats, they ride the roaring surf 
and towering waves as buoyantly as seabirds and are 
ideal boats for use where there are heavy seas. 

Lifeboats j such as those used on steamships and by 
the coast guard, are really modified whaleboats and 
surfboats, combining the good points of both and with 



14 THE BOOK OF THE SAILBOAT 

slight alterations in proportions and construction to 
enable them to carry large loads with safety. 

They are not as easily handled or as speedy as the 
whaleboats, but they are far more roomy; they are 
almost non-capsizable, are unsinkable and are built 
both of metal and of wood. The are rather heavy, 
however, and expensive. 

For one who wishes a perfectly safe, roomy, strong 
boat capable of withstanding almost any weather and 
with good sailing qualities it is hard to find anything 
better than a standard lifeboat. 

At Block Island, off the tip of Long Island, there 
is a peculiar sort of boat used by the native fishermen, 
which is known as the Block Island boat. In some 
ways this craft resembles a whaleboat and in some 
ways it reminds one of a surf boat, while in many of 
its characters it is much like a lifeboat and yet it is 
totally different from all. They are wonderfully 
staunch and seaworthy, they have great carrying 
capacity and sail very well. Formerly a great many 
were used as small cruising yachts, but of late years 
they have almost disappeared. 

Somewhat similar to the whaleboats are the big 
seine boats used by the New England fishermen for 
pulling the great, heavy seines when catching 
mackerel, herring, menhaden, etc. They are very 
stable boats with immense carrying capacity, are eas- 
ily handled and are seaworthy, but have no advantages 
over the whaleboats except in point of size. They do 
not sail as well nor are they are as seaworthy as the 
whaleboats. 



WHAT BOAT TO USE 15 

All of the above are round-bottomed boats of the 
double-ended type in which both bow and stern are 
sharp. One would therefore assume that this style 
was the most seaworthy, especially as the spongers 
of the Mediterranean, the pilot boats of many islands 
and the typical fishing-boats of the European countries 
are also double-ended. Such, however, is not neces- 
sarily the case for the fishermen, pilots and other in- 
habitants of other countries use round-bottomed boats 
with broad sterns and some even use flat-bottomed 
boats and brave as heavy weather, as hard storms and 
as tumultuous seas as their fellows in the round-bot- 
tomed, double-ended craft. 

Probably no men in the world ply their trade in 
rougher seas and in stormier weather than the Glouces- 
ter fishermen who fish for halibut and cod on the 
banks of Newfoundland and on George's Banks. The 
boats used by these hardy fishermen are known as 
dories and are flat-bottomed, high-sided, odd-looking 
craft which one would never imagine were seaworthy, 
yet in them the Gloucester fishermen ride out terrific 
storms and mountainous waves; they haul halibut 
weighing hundreds of pounds over the boats' sides 
without capsizing, and they sail or row them safely 
through winter storms in midocean when laden with 
fish until the gunwales are almost level with the water. 
Dories used by the fishermen are not beautiful nor 
graceful boats, but they are wonderfully well adapted 
to their use, and many builders have adopted so-called 
dory models for pleasure craft, both for motor boats 
and sailboats. As a rule, however, there is little re- 



16 THE BOOK OF THE SAILBOAT 

semblance between these "improved" dories and those 
of the banks, and the stability and other qualities of the 
real dories are usually lost in altering the lines for 
the sake of appearances. 

Still another type of flat-bottomed boat which is 
used all along the Atlantic coast is the sharpie. The 
sharpie is merely a modified skiff equipped with a cen- 
terboard, but when properly handled these boats will 
stand a great deal of rough weather and knocking 
about and, moreover, they sail remarkably well. One 
usually thinks of sharpies as small boats but they are 
often forty or fifty feet in length and are sometimes 
built as large as small schooners and of twenty to 
fifty tons capacity. The great objection to sharpies 
and other flat-bottomed boats is that they "pound" or 
slap the water when in a heavy sea or among choppy 
waves, and to overcome this a type of boat known as 
a skipjack was evolved. Skipjacks are a sort of con- 
necting link between true flat-bottomed and round- 
bottomed boats, for the after part of the bottom is 
flat while the forward portion is V-shaped and thus 
they cut through the seas instead of pounding on 
them while at the same time they slip over the surface 
of' the water rather than through it. Many of the 
fastest racing boats and the fastest motor speed boats 
are nothing more nor less than modified skipjacks, and 
for all-around use, especially in shallow waters, there 
are few better boats where roominess and sea-going 
qualities are not essential. 

Just as the men whose living depends upon their 
boats have agreed upon the craft best suited to their 



WHAT BOAT TO USE 17 

needs, so the man or boy who is selecting a sailboat 
for pleasure should consider all the types and should 
choose that which best fulfills all of his requirements. 

If you want a roomy boat or a boat on which to 
live or sleep you should choose a round-bottomed 
craft, for only in these can you obtain much depth 
or "head room" unless a very high cabin is built above 
the deck which always makes a boat top-heavy and un- 
seaworthy. If the waters in which you are to use 
your boat are stormy, if heavy seas are common, or if 
you expect to make long trips out to sea or from place 
to place, select a boat which is noted for its seaworthy 
qualities, such as a whaleboat, seine boat, lifeboat or 
Block Island model. 

If you are obliged to run ashore or to pull your 
boat upon a rocky or sandy beach select a flat-bot- 
tomed craft which can be hauled out readily without 
injury; while, if you want a boat for general utility, 
to use in bays and harbors and in sheltered waters and 
yet capable of standing any reasonable seas and ordi- 
nary storms, select a fairly deep, beamy, round-bot- 
tomed hull such as the Cape Cod or Block Island' cat- 
boat, or a similar model. 

If your boat is merely an open boat for day sailing 
and short trips almost any type will serve, such as a 
dory, a sharpie, a skipjack or a round-bottomed or 
yawl boat. As a rule, however, you should avoid the 
true "open" boat for sailing, for in a boat without 
any deck it only takes a slight puff of wind, an in- 
stant's carelessness or a small sea to bring the rail 
under water and swamp the boat. 



18 THE BOOK OF THE SAILBOAT 

Even a very narrow deck is far better than none 
at all and if the deck has a good high "combing" or 
raised inner edge, the safety will be increased a hun- 
dredfold. 

Very few boats will capsize if decently handled and 
not equipped with too much sail unless "tripped" by 
getting water over the side; but once the rail of an 
open boat is under water the boat will upset very 
quickly, for each pound of water taken in stays on 
the lowest side of the boat and has a tendency to carry 
the craft over still further. 

A great deal depends upon the construction of the 
boat itself and still more depends upon the rig or sails 
to be used, and before selecting or using any boat you 
should be thoroughly familiar with the various parts 
of a boat, its construction, its fittings and its rig and 
should know what each and every part is for, as well 
as how to use, repair and care for it. 



CHAPTER III 



PARTS OF BOATS 



Nearly everyone knows that the body of the boat 
is called the hull, but a great many people, even those 
who live by the sea or who are accustomed to the 
use of boats, know very little about the various parts 
of the hull or the proper names for the different por- 
tions of it. 

The principal parts of a small boat's hull are: the 
bow, the stem, the deck (if not an open boat) ; the 
keel, the thwarts, the bilge, the bottom, the topsides and 
the gunwales. Each of these is made up of various 
pieces or parts, and to portions of each different names 
are given. The bow is the forward end of the boat; 
the stem is the rear end ; the deck is the portion on top 
or the part which covers the open portion; the keel 
is the very bottom piece which extends from bow to 
stern ; the thwarts are the seats ; the bilge is the bottom 
close to the keel on either side; the bottom proper is 
the portion between the keel and the sides of the boat ; 
the topsides are the sides above the curve of the bot- 

19 



20 THE BOOK OF THE SAILBOAT 

torn ; the gunwales are the upper edges of the topsides. 

The extreme forward edge of the bow is known 
as the aitwater; the extreme end of the stern is known 
as the counter or transom; the curve from bow to 
stern, horizontally, is called the sheer; the sides above 
the water are known as freeboard; the inner edge 
of the decks when provided with a perpendicular edge 
is the combing; the open space within the edge 
of the decks is known as the cockpit; the extreme 
forward portion of the boat is called the peak; the 
central part of the craft is the waist; the forward part 
of the hull near the stem and below the water line is 
the entrance; the after part, on the sides beneath the 
water is the run. In every boat, no matter how large 
or small she may be, these parts are always the same. 

The various parts used in building a boat are very 
numerous in some craft and are few in others, de- 
pending upon the size and model of the boat, but in 
every case similar parts have the same names and 
are used for the same purposes. 

The upright piece, to which the sides are attached 
at the bow is the stem and when this is made in two 
parts, as is often the case on large boats, the outer 
piece is known as the false stem. This stem is at- 
tached to the keel by a knee and when a second piece 
is attached to the keel to thicken and strengthen it, 
the piece is called the keelson. At the stern the up- 
right timber is called the sternpost and to this the 
transom, the broad flat piece at the end of the stern, 
is fastened. From the stem to the transom extends 
the planking, the plank next to the keel on each side 



PARTS OF BOATS 21 

being called the garboard stroke and the ones at 
the top of the sides being known as top strokes, sheer 
strokes or upper strokes. From keel to the tops of the 
sides curved or bent pieces are fastened which are 
known as ribs and these are attached to the keel-piece 
and the decks by knees. Sometimes an inner lining 
is placed on top of the ribs to make the inside of the 
boat smooth and this is known as the ceiling while 
the pieces that extend across from side to side and 
which support the decks are called deck timbers. 
These are the principal parts found in every boat of 
round-bottomed construction, but in flat-bottomed 
boats there are no real ribs, no bilge nor garboard 
strakes, no keel and no real sternpost, owing to the 
form and method of construction. 

In a flat-bottomed boat the bottom runs across from 
side to side without any bilge; the entire sides are 
practically freeboard; straight braces or timbers re- 
place ribs; the keel is replaced by a false keel or rub- 
bing stroke and, except in large sized boats, the tran- 
som is held in position by the sides and bottom and 
no stern post is required. 

In form and design the various parts of boats vary 
as much, or even more, than the boats themselves and 
there is an almost endless variety of bows, sterns, coun- 
ters, etc., not to mention the forms of rudders, the 
variations in sheer, and other proportions of form, 
lines, run, freeboard, etc. 

Even in one type of boat there may be a great many 
forms of bows or sterns in use, many designed merely 
to add to the appearance of the craft, others to add 



22 THE BOOK OF THE SAILBOAT 

speed, others to make the boat drier, others to adapt it 
better to sailing or rowing, as the case may be; and 
still others to afford better facilities for using certain 
types of rig, gear or fishing-tackle. 

The forms of bows and sterns are so numerous that 
to name or describe them all would requii^eya volume, 
but they may all be grouped under a cpmparatively 
limited number of types, the others bein£*«ierely modi- 
fications or combinations of these. 




Types of Bows and Sterns 

i — Straight bow. 2 — Round bow. 3 — Clipper bow. 4 — Dory bow. 
5 — Whaleboat bow. 6 — Canoe bow. 7 — Spoon bow. 8 — 
Square stern. 9 — Overhanging stern. 10 — Whaleboat stern. 
11 — Dory stern. 12 — Round stern. 13 — Sharp or "pinkey" 
stern. 

The commonest and most important forms of bows 
are as follows : 

Straight bows, in which the stem is perpendicular 
to the keel; round bows, in which the stem is curved 
or rounded from keel to deck; clipper bows, in which 
the stem is concave or hollowed in outline; raking or 
dory bows in which the stem is set at an angle to the 
keel; whaleboat bows which are rounded or curved 
and are also at an angle; canoe bows which are like 
the round bows but more convex, and spoon bows 



PARTS OF BOATS 23 

which have no true stem but sweep in a gradual curve 
from the bottom of the boat to the deck. 

Among the more typical sterns we find: Square or 
straight sterns, in which the sternpost is perpendicular 
and the counter is broad and flat ; overhanging sterns, 
in which the counter is carried out beyond the stern- 
post and overhangs the water; dory sterns, in which 
the sternpost is at an angle and has a V-shaped coun- 
ter ; whaleboat sterns which are sharp and shaped like 
the bow; round sterns, in which the sides are carried 
around in a curve or half-circle with no transom ; and 
sharp stems or pinkey sterns which are sharp like the 
stern of a whaleboat, but instead of being curved are 
merely angular or perpendicular. 

Each of these forms of bows and sterns possesses 
qualities which adapt it to one purpose more than 
another and in selecting a boat you should bear this 
in mind. Straight or round bows throw a larger 
bow wave than the whaleboat or clipper types and 
have a tendency to bury the bows in heavy seas; 
whaleboat or dory bows cut through the waves, but 
give great buoyancy or lifting power to the craft, 
thus preventing it from burying the forward part 
in the water; while spoon bows pound and slap in 
heavy seas and are principally of value for racing boats 
or for use in calm waters. 

Even the sterns have an important effect upon a 
boat's abilities and seaworthiness. A square stern 
will drag a great deal of water behind it when travel- 
ing rapidly and with a following sea is liable to take 
in water, or to be "pooped," as the sailors would say. 



24 THE BOOK OF THE SAILBOAT 

Round sterns with an overhang are also bad in a sea- 
way and often make a boat slow in coming about or 
turning; transom sterns with an overhang are better, 
while the sharp-pointed pinkey or whaleboat sterns 
prevent a following sea from entering the boat and 
leave a clean wake, but owing to the fact that there 
is no overhang and that the entire height of the boat 
is brought broadside to the water when turning, they 
are not so quick in maneuvering as a stern with a good 
overhang. Perhaps the best all-around stern is one 
with a good overhang, a sharp run and a small coun- 
ter : in other words, a sort of combination of the com- 
mon overhand stern and the whaleboat type. 

In the planking, boats vary a great deal, and there 
are many different methods of making the . sides and 
bottom. Even boats of the same form, for the same 
uses and with the same style of bow and stern may be 
made in very different ways. One method is to place 
the planks so that the edges join and there is a uni- 
form, smooth surface, with all the planks running 
from bow to stern. This is known as smooth-skin 
or carvel planking. Another style is to let the boards 
overlap slightly; this is known as clinker construction 
or lap-streak planking. Other boats are planked with 
very narrow strips fastened one above the other, edge 
to edge, while still others are covered with two or 
more layers of thin boards placed diagonally from 
keel to gunwales and known as diagonal planking. 
For light racing boats the latter type is admirable for 
it is strong, light, tight and stiff, but it is difficult to 
repair, it is expensive and for ordinary use has no 



PARTS OF BOATS 25 

advantages. Clinker-built boats are excellent when 
new, but a broken or injured plank is difficult to re- 
place, leaks are hard to stop and it has no advantages 
over the carvel planking which is the commonest of 
all forms of boat-building. 

Still another matter to be considered when select- 
ing a boat is whether you should use a keel or a 
centerboard craft. Every boat, in order to sail well, 
must have a portion which projects below the bottom 
and which will prevent the craft from sliding sideways 
or making "leeway" on the water when the wind is 
from the side or when sailing against the wind. This 
projection may be a keel, which is an immovable por- 
tion of the boat itself; it may be a centerboard which 
is a board which can be raised or lowered at will 
from the center of the boat, or it may be a leeboard 
which is merely hung over the side opposite the wind 
and is shifted as the boat tacks or goes about. 

Leeboards are clumsy makeshifts and while they 
are used on large vessels in some countries, as in 
Holland and Scandinavia, they are a great nuisance 
and very unsatisfactory on anything but canoes and 
rowboats which are sailed occasionally and on which 
either keels or centerboards would be inconvenient. 

No one has yet decided definitely whether or not 
keels or centerboards are the better, although the mat- 
ter has been discussed, tried and thrashed out for 
years. As a matter of fact each has its advantages 
and disadvantages, each is adapted to certain types of 
boats and to certain conditions and each has its ad- 
herents who have no faith in the other type. 



26 THE BOOK OF THE SAILBOAT 

Personally, I think the keel boat the better for deep 
water use where there is a likelihood of heavy weather 
and yet many of the Gloucester fishing-smacks and 
many yachts which have won ocean races are of the 
centerboard type. For shallow waters or where there 
are reefs, sandbars, shoals or mud-flats keel boats are 
a nuisance and centerboards are practically a necessity. 
Where boats are to be hauled on beaches centerboard 
boats are really the only kind to use, for keel boats 
will not stand upright and cut deeply into the sand. 
Flat-bottomed boats are nearly always of the center- 
board type ; whaleboats have centerboards, and yet cat- 
boats and other round-bottomed boats are made in 
both types. 

Keel boats are roomier than those with centerboards 
for there is no space occupied by the centerboard and 
its case; they are less liable to capsize, and if made 
with the same proportions as centerboard boats they 
are as dry, seaworthy and handy. As a rule, how- 
ever, the keel craft are much narrower and deeper 
than those equipped with centerboards and many of 
them are almost like a plank set on edge. These are 
stable enough, but they are wet, uncomfortable and 
hard to handle. 

The advantages of the centerboard are that when 
sailing before the wind or when rowing the board may 
be lifted and much less resistance to the water will then 
result and consequently more speed may be gained. 
When in shallow water the centerboard may be raised 
or lowered according to the depth of the water, and if 
a sandbar or reef is struck little injury will result, as 



PARTS OF BOATS 



27 



the board is free to move up when it strikes an obstruc- 
tion, whereas a keel boat under the same conditions 
might be badly injured. 

The objections to a centerboard are the difficulties 
in keeping the case and trunk of the board from leak- 
ing, the space it occupies, the necessity of raising or 
lowering it according to varying conditions and the 




Keels, Centerboards, Leeboards and Rudders 

I — Section of a keel boat. 2 — Section of a centerboard boat. 3 — 
Section of a fin keel boat. 4 — Portion of a keel boat's hull. 5 — 
Boat with centerboard. 6 — Boat with leeboard. 7-9 — Forms 
of rudders for keel boats. 8-10 — Forms of rudders for center- 
board boats. 



slight, very slight, chance of losing the board and thus 
becoming helpless. 

Centerboards are not confined to small boats as many 
think, but large coasting vessels and even three-masted 



28 THE BOOK OF THE SAILBOAT 

schooners are often built with them, which proves 
that they have many great advantages. Some boats 
are built in a sort of combination keel and centerboard 
method, in which a moderate keel is provided and a 
centerboard is used as well, while within comparatively 
recent years the fin-keel type of boat has been evolved. 
In these the hull is proportioned like that of a center- 
board boat but the keel is merely a large fin or sheet 
of metal carrying a mass of lead or iron at its lower 
edge. All things being equal, the best boat for ordi- 
nary use is the centerboard type and for small boats, 
or the amateur's use, they are far superior to keel 
boats of any sort. 

Most small boats are steered by means of a rudder 
and tiller, the rudder being a wooden or metal affair 
submerged at the stern and the tiller consisting of a 
handle at the rudder's upper end. Some rudders are 
hung or fastened to the counter and can be easily 
taken off or "unshipped," while others are under the 
counter and are fastened to the sternpost with the 
upper end coming up through the boat or the deck. 
There are various forms of rudders: some long and 
extending out for a considerable distance in the rear 
of the boat, and others high and narrow, but the 
purpose of all is the same and the rudder is always 
designed to present an area sufficient to swing the 
boat around readily or to steer it without using too 
great force. Large boats are usually steered by gears 
connecting the rudder to a wheel ; as the handling of a 
tiller connected directly to the rudder of a large vessel 
would be a very difficult task indeed. 



PARTS OF BOATS 29 

As, in order to turn a boat to the right, the tiller 
must be moved to the left, the terms used by sailors 
in steering boats are often confusing to landsmen. 
For example, if a sailor wants a boat turned to the 
left, or to port, as it's called, he will say. "Starboard 
the helm," or, in other words, push the tiller to the 
starboard or right-hand side, and vice versa. It is not 
so bad when steering with a tiller, but when steering 
with a wheel the beginner is very apt to do the wrong 
thing and turn the wheel to the right when he wants 
to go to the right and to the left, or port, when he wants 
to go to that direction, and to simplify matters many 
boats are now arranged so that the wheel is turned in 
the direction one really wants to go. 

This makes it very easy when steering for oneself, 
but if someone is directing the course and sings out 
the orders in true sailor fashion the steersman has to 
remember and port his helm when he is told to star- 
board it and thus the confusion is just as bad as ever. 
For this reason the beginner should use a tiller if pos- 
sible; for that matter, there is no advantage in a 
wheel in boats less than thirty or forty feet in length. 

On every sailboat there are a certain number of 
appliances which are unfamiliar to landsmen but which 
you should become accustomed to before attempting 
to handle a boat. There are blocks, tackle, chocks, 
fairleaders, cleats, turnbuckles, eyebolts and travelers 
among the deck fittings. Each of these has its use and 
one should be perfectly familiar with them. Blocks 
are wooden or metal objects containing 'rollers or 
wheels known as sheaves through which ropes are 




ftftofrtOSJ 



Jii *7 -*» 



Boat Fittings 'and Parts of Boats 

i — Eyebolt. 2 — Block. 3 — Hook block. 4 — Ring block. 5 — 
Sister or fiddle block. 6 — Snatch block. 7 — Cheek block. 8, 9 — 
Fairleaders. 10 — Whip purchase. 11 — Whip and runner. 
12 — Long tackle. 13 — Gun tackle. 14 — Luff tackle. 15 — 
Watch tackle. 16 — Cleats. 17 — Chocks. 18 — Bitts. 19 — 
Turnbuckles. 20 — Travelers. 21 — Dead eyes. 22 — Section of 
boat to show parts (round bottom). 23 — Section of boat to 
show parts (flat bottom). 24 — External parts of boat. 25 — 
Parts of boat (top view). 26 — Carvel planking. 27 — Clinker 
planking. 28 — Strip planking. 29 — Flat bottom planking. 30 — 
V-bottom planking. 31 — Diagonal planking. 



PARTS OF BOATS 31 

run to enable them to be hauled tight without great 
friction. Cheek-blocks are half blocks which bolt or 
attach to a mast, spar, or other object. Sister-blocks 
have two sheaves, one above the other, in a single 
shell. Tail-blocks are blocks with a rope or hook at 
one end by which they may be hung to spars, etc. 
Snatch-blocks are blocks arranged so that one side 
may be opened to allow a rope to be passed over the 
sheave without running it through and there are pat- 
ent-blocks which will hold a rope securely in any 
position by means of a grip. 

Blocks and ropes together are known as tackles 
and the blocks used may be single, double, triple or 
fourfold, according to the number of sheaves they 
contain. A luff-tackle has a single and a double block 
with one end of the rope fast to the single block and 
the hauling end leading from the double block. 

A gun-tackle consists of two single blocks with one 
end of the rope fast to the upper block and the hauling 
part passing down from the upper block. 

A watch-tackle is a tackle used to haul the rope 
which is rove through another tackle and a whip-pur- 
chase has a single block only. 

The purpose of the tackle is to increase one's power 
and the more sheaves there are and the more times the 
rope is passed through the blocks the more the power 
obtained ; but as in every case where power is in- 
creased, speed is lost and to hoist a sail with a tackle 
with several sheaves requires more time than to do 
the same work with a single-sheave block. For this 
reason the simplest tackle which will enable you to per- 



32 THE BOOK OF THE SAILBOAT 

form the work without undue exertion is the one you 
should use. 

Fairleadcrs are sheaves or rollers which are screwed 
or bolted to the decks or other parts of the boat 
and through which ropes are run in order that the 
ropes may be carried around curves or at right 
angles. Chocks are metal or wooden appliances in 
the form of notches and are used where ropes pass 
over the edge of a boat to hold them in one position. 
Cleats are devices for holding a rope without tying 
it and are very useful and numerous on boats. They 
are either of metal or wood and by winding the rope 
over them it may be held securely and yet can be 
thrown off at a moment's notice. Tumbuckles are 
metal arrangements for tightening ropes, wires or 
chains and have hooks or eyes at the ends with screw- 
threads which may be drawn together or separated by 
turning the central portion of the turnbuckle. On 
small boats they are seldom used, but on large and 
medium-sized craft they are very necessary. Eyebolts 
are eyes bolted or screwed in position and to them 
turnbuckles, ropes, blocks or other objects are fast- 
ened, while travelers are metal rods over which blocks, 
rings or things slide or "travel." Travelers are usually 
placed at the stern of single-sailed boats for the tackle 
of the sheet, the rope which controls the sail, to slide 
on, and they are also used on masts for the sail to 
slide up and down upon when it is raised or lowered, 
as well as in many other places. 

A great many people who have used boats or have 
traveled on them speak of a vessel's rigging without 



PARTS OF BOATS 33 

knowing what the rigging- really is. In the same way 
they speak of the "ropes" of a ship and while both 
terms may be correct in a way, yet to a sailor the terms 
would mean nothing definite. Rigging comprises all 
the ropes, sails, stays, halyards and in fact, every- 
thing above the decks which has anything to do with 
the sail plan or rig of a boat, but to sailors there are 
two definite types of rigging, even in the smallest 
craft. These are the standing rigging and the run- 
ning rigging. The latter comprises only the various 
ropes, lines, etc., which move when the vessel is in use, 
while the standing rigging consists of all the perman- 
ent ropes, stays and other things which remain station- 
ary. To enumerate the various individual parts of 
the standing and running rigging of a large vessel 
would require a great deal of space and would be of 
little value to the person who is interested only in 
small boats, but there are certain portions of the rig- 
ging which occur on every boat and which every 
boatman should know by heart. 

As a matter of fact, there are very few "ropes" 
so-called, even on a full-rigged ship, for what appear 
as ropes to a landsman are known by specific names 
to sailors. Even on a small boat there are few ropes 
which are spoken of as such and nothing so loudly 
proclaims the landlubber as to speak of a stay, hal- 
yard or sheet as a "rope." 

The halyards are the ropes which hoist the sails and 
they vary in number and name according to the type 
of sails used. As a rule there are two to each sail 
and known as the throat halyards and peak halyards. 



34 



THE BOOK OF THE SAILBOAT 



(This refers only to fore-and-aft sails, see Chapter 
IV). The throat halyard being the one which hoists 
the edge of the sail nearest the mast, while the peak 




Running Rigging of Fore-and-aft Rig 

A — Jib halyard. B — Downhaul. C — Throat halyard. D — Peak 
halyard. E — Topping lift. F — Main sheet. G— Jib sheet. 



halyard raises the outer edge of the sail. Where sails 
have no gaff or piece of wood at the upper edge only- 
one halyard is used. 

The sheet is the line which is attached to the outer 
extremity of the sail and is controlled by the man 
sailing the boat and its purpose is to hold the sail in 



PARTS OF BOATS 35 

any desired position and to enable the sailor to pull 
the sail in or to let it out, according to the direction of 
the wind and the course sailed. 

Downhauls are ropes used in pulling down sails 
and are just the opposite of halyards and on small 
boats they are seldom necessary. Topping lifts are 
ropes which lead from the masthead to the end of 
boom to support the latter when the sail is lowered 
and they are usually so arranged that they may be 
hauled up or let down to raise or lower or top the 
boom. Lazy jacks are light lines extending from the 
mast head, or near it, to the boom and are used to 
prevent the sail from falling or bagging loose when 
lowered. They are seldom used on very small boats. 
Brails are ropes extending to the after edge of the sail 
by means of which the sail may be gathered close to 
the mast ready for furling. 

All these are parts of the running rigging while the 
standing rigging, in its simplest form, consists of stays 
which are ropes or wires stretched from the top of the 
mast to the hull to keep the mast in position, or which 
extend from the top of the mast to the bowsprit and 
from the bowsprit to the stem to keep the bowsprit in 
its proper place. The stays from the mast to the bow- 
sprit are known as forestays and upon them small 
sails are run up or down which are known as jibs, 
f or estay sails, etc. (Chapter IV). Many boats which 
do not have bowsprits or jibs nevertheless have fore- 
stays running from the top of the mast to the bow, to 
keep the mast in one position, while many boats with 
bowsprits have stays running from the end of the 




Standing Rigging, Masts, Etc. 

I — Polemast. 2 — Mast with topmast. 3 — Mast with topmast and 
topgallant mast. 4 — Bowsprit with jib boom. 5 — Pole bow- 
sprit. 6 — Foremast. 7 — Mainmast. 8 — Mizzen mast. 9 — 
Jigger or spanker mast. 

A — Forestay. B — Backstays. C — Shrouds or side stays. D — 
Topmast stay. E — Fore topmast stay. F — Jib stay. F' — 
Foretopgallant stay. G — Flying jib stay. H — Fore royal stay. 
I — Mast or lower mast. J — Trestle or cross trees. K — Top 
mast. L — Topgallant mast. M — Topmast cap. N — Top- 
mast trestle or cross trees. O — Lowermast cap. P — Royal 
mast. Q — Futtock shrouds. R — Ratlines. S — Spreader. 

BT— Bowsprit. JB— Jib boom. FJB— Flying jib boom. BS— 
Bobstays. DS — Martingale or dolphin striker. MBR — Martin- 
gale back ropes. JBS — Jib boom martingale stays. FJBS — 
Flying jib boom martingale stays. 



PARTS OF BOATS 37 

bowsprit to the sides of the boat, their purpose being 
to keep the bowsprit from bending sideways. 

On large vessels the stays are very numerous and 
there are backstays to keep the masts from bending 
forward, stays between the masts and many other 
kinds of stays, but most of these are never necessary 
on small boats. If the boat has a topmast, however, 
there are always topmast-stays and usually backstays, 
the former being spread apart, where the topmast and 
lowermast join, by means of a wooden or metal cross- 
piece known as a spreader. So also on boats with a 
long bowsprit, or where a second piece known as a 
jib boom, extends beyond the bowsprit, there are 
stays known as bobstays which are spread down to- 
ward the water by means of a metal or iron piece 
known as the dolphin striker or martingale boom. 

In mentioning these various parts of the rigging 
I have used the terms "masts," "bowsprit," etc., and 
while I suppose that nearly every reader will know 
what a mast and a bowsprit is, yet it may be well to 
add a few words about them and their names. The 
masts, of course, are the sticks which carry the sails 
and rigging, and if there are more than one used, the 
forward mast is always the foremast. The one back 
of this is the mainmast; the third from the bow is 
the mizzen, while in four-masted vessels there is the 
spanker mast or jigger mast. Where the front mast is 
very high and there is another very small mast at the 
stern the latter is also known as the jigger or mizzen 
and the forward mast becomes the mainmast. Masts 
may be made in one or more sections according to the 



38 THE BOOK OF THE SAILBOAT 

rig of the vessel. If the mast is all in one piece it is 
known as a polemast and if another piece is placed 
above it this is known as the topmast, while in square- 
rigged vessels there are still other pieces known as 
topgallant masts, royal masts, etc. 

The bowsprit is the stick which projects forward 
from the bow of a vessel and it may be either a pole 
bowsprit in one piece, or it may have a second piece 
attached to it and known as a jib boom, while on very 
large vessels there may be still a third part known as 
the flying jib boom. In addition to all these there are 
the various sticks or timbers which help spread the 
sails and which are known as spars, but as these vary 
in number and name according to the rig and sails 
used it is best to consider them in connection with the 
sails themselves. 



CHAPTER IV 



VARIOUS RIGS 



Probably the first sail ever placed upon a boat was 
merely a piece of hide or skin, lashed to a sapling and 
kept spread open by a rough stick lashed across it. 
Through all the countless centuries this first form of 
sail has been retained and while the skin has been re- 
placed by cloth and the rough saplings have given 
place to well-finished poles or spars, the spritsail, as 
it is called, still remains one of the simplest, handiest 
and most widely used of sails. 

The true spritsail is a square, or nearly square, 
piece of canvas laced by one edge to the mast and 
kept stretched flat by means of a pole known as a sprit 
which extends from the lower part of the mast diago- 
nally across the sail to the upper, outer corner. 

Sometimes the sail is attached to hoops or rings 
which run up and down the mast and a halyard is used 
in hoisting the sail but, in order to spread the sail well, 
the sprit must be pulled out by hand and cannot be 
arranged to rise or fall with the sail. The ordinary 

39 



40 THE BOOK OF THE SAILBOAT 

method of securing the sprit is to place the tip in a 
small loop, or eye of rope made at the corner of the 
sail and then heave the sprit out until the sail is taut 
by means of a rope known as a lanyard which is at- 
tached to the mast and is passed through a hole or a 
notch in the lower end of the sprit. 

Another very simple sail, which is really a modi- 
fication of the spritsail, is the leg-o' -mutton. This 
differs mainly from the spritsail in form, for instead 
of being rectangular it is three-cornered and the sprit, 
instead of extending from the mast to the upper, outer 
corner of the sail, extends almost horizontally across 
it. Leg-o'-mutton sails, like the spritsails, are often 
arranged to be raised or lowered by a halyard and ow- 
ing to the position of the sprit it is not necessary to 
remove it when lowering a leg-o'-mutton sail. 

Some spritsails have two sprits, but this is a 
nuisance and for most purposes the leg-o'-mutton is 
the far better sail of the two. In the first place it 
stays flatter and thus enables one to sail closer to the 
wind; it does not have the tendency to "kick up" and 
wrap itself about the mast, like the spritsail, when sail- 
ing before the wind, and finally it is not so liable to 
capsize a boat in a heavy wind as the greatest area 
is low, whereas in the spritsail the upper portion pre- 
sents the largest surface to the wind. 

Somewhat similar to the leg-o'-mutton sail in form 
is the gunter sail or sliding gunter, which is a great, 
favorite in many parts of Europe but which has never 
been widely introduced in America, although it has a 
great many advantages over other sails for small 




Various Rigs 
I — Felucca. 2 — Lugger. 3 — Nonpareil. 4 — Dandy. 5 — Bermuda 
boat. 6 — French gunter. 7 — Batten sail. 8 — Settee sail. 



I 



42 THE BOOK OF THE SAILBOAT 

boats. The gunter sail is a very easy one to raise or 
lower, for there is no sprit to remove and it is very 
easy to reef. In the gunter sail the mast is made in 
two sections with the upper portion sliding by travel- 
lers over the lower portion, and to this movable part 
the single halyard is attached. In order to reef sail 
it is only necessary to lower the sliding mast a trifle, 
tie the reef points to the boom and again hoist the sail 
taut. 

Another form of rig, which is seen everywhere in 
Oriental waters, and is the prime favorite with all 
Latin races, is the lateen. Like the leg-o'-mutton and 
the gunter rigs the lateen is triangular, but unlike 
the two former it is longer than. high, or in other 
words, is placed horizontally, instead of perpendicu- 
larly. The lateen is a particularly good sail for small 
boats as the greatest area is low and why it has 
not been more generally adopted is something of a 
mystery. As used in the West Indies the lateen is 
rigged on a single, short mast which points or "rakes" 
slightly towards the bow of the boat. It has two 
yards and is raised and lowered by one halyard. It is 
kept taut and flat by a crotch, or ring, passed around 
the mast and fastened to the lower yard. Properly 
made the lateen will set very flat and smooth, it is 
easily and quickly raised or lowered, readily reefed 
and is the most graceful and picturesque of all rigs. 

Somewhat like the lateen, but with the forward end 
cut off, is the lugsail which is the sail most often used 
by the fishermen of northern Europe and the British 
Isles. Personally I could never see any advantage 



VARIOUS RIGS 



43 



which this sail possesses over the common and much 
more simple spritsail or the ordinary boom-and-gaff 
sail and on large boats it is heavy, clumsy and far less 
to be recommended than several other forms. 

The common boom-and-gaff sail is the one so fa- 
miliar to everyone who lives on or near the water or 
who has ever seen sailing boats or vessels, for it is 




Parts of Sails, Spars, Etc., of Fore-and-aft Rig 

more widely used than any other form and is the basis 
of all fore-and-aft rigs in most localities. 

The true fore-and-aft sail or boom-and-gaff sail is 
really an adaptation of the older lugsail and is a vast 
improvement over it. It is attached to the mast by 
means of rings or travelers and has two spars; the 
,one at the top known as the gaff and the one at the 
bottom known as the boom. There are two halyards 
used, known as the peak halyard and throat halyard; 
the latter being used to hoist the sail and the former 
to spread it tight and flat. This rig is noted for its 



44 THE BOOK OF THE SAILBOAT 

ability to sail close to the wind; it is easy to handle 
and in case of a sudden storm or squall the peak may 
be dropped and the area of the sail thus reduced with- 
out stopping to reef. For very small boats it has the 
disadvantage of requiring rather heavy spars and mast 
and a multiplicity of ropes, blocks, etc., and hence for 
this purpose the sprit, leg-o'-mutton, gunter or lateen 
rigs are preferable. 

Aside from the shape or type of sails there are vari- 
ous rigs which are well recognized as standards and 
which are combinations of several sails. Thus the 
rig known as the cat rig is a single fore-and-aft sail 
near the bow of the boat. The jib-and-mainsail rig has 
a boom-and-gaff sail and a small triangular sail 
known as a jib, which is set on a stay running from 
the masthead to the bow, or to the end of the bow- 
sprit. The sloop rig is like the jib-and-mainsail rig 
but in addition has a small sail known as a topsail be- 
tween the gaff and the topmast it may also have two 
or three other small triangular sails on the forestays. 
When there are two of these the lowest is known as 
the fore staysail, the next is the jib and the third is 
the flying jib. Schooners are two-, three-, four-, five-, 
six- or even seven-masted vessels with the masts fore- 
and-aft rigged and with jibs like a sloop and with 
staysails between the various topmasts. In schooners 
the various fore-and-aft sails are all of nearly the same 
size with the sail on the rear mast the largest. 

Two other rigs which have two masts and carry 
fore-and-aft sails are the ketch and the yawl. The ketch 
has a foremast rigged like that of a sloop, or schooner, 



VARIOUS RIGS 



45 



with a much smaller boom-and-gaff" sail on a mast 
near the stern, while the yawl is practically the same 
with a still smaller rear sail. If the rear mast or miz- 
zen is placed in front of the sternpost the rig is the 
ketch whereas if placed behind the sternpost it is a 
yawl rig. There are also cat yawls which have no jibs 




i — Ketch Rig. 2 — Cat Yawl Rig 

and some ketches and yawls carry lugsails on both 
masts, or have a boom and gaff mainsail and a lug- 
sail mizzen or even a sprit, lateen, leg-o'-mutton, gun- 
ter or other type of mizzen sail. Yawls and ketches 
are at times rigged with leg-o'-mutton, lug, gunter or 
lateen sails on both masts, but when thus rigged the 
crafts are not, properly speaking, either yawls or 
ketches. If lugsails are used the rig is really a lugger; 
if both masts carry leg-o'-mutton or gunter sails the 



46 THE BOOK OF THE SAILBOAT 

rig is known as the nonpareil; if the mizzen is a leg- 
o'mutton sail the boat is dandy-rigged and if both 
main and mizzen sails are of the lateen type the boat 
becomes a felucca, which is one of the favorite 
Mediterranean rigs and is familiar to every reader of 
sea tales as the typical rig of the Eastern corsairs. 

All of the sails mentioned on these various rigs are 
those known as working sails, but in addition there 
are numerous light sails used when there is little wind' 
or when racing, such as spinnakers, jib topsails, bal- 
loon jibs, etc., but which are of little interest in con- 
nection with small boats or boats for the amateur 
sailor. Nevertheless some knowledge of such matters 
never comes amiss and it is well to know the names 
and uses of these racing sails. 

Spinnakers are immense triangular sails used when 
running before the wind and which are spread out 
from the side of the boat by means of a spar known 
as a spinnaker boom. Balloon jibs are huge, jib-like 
sails of very light cotton or silk used in place of the 
smaller head sails when running on, or before, the 
wind, while jib topsails are triangular sails run up 
on the stay which extends from the topmast to the 
bowsprit. 

Nowadays fore-and-aft-rigged vessels form the bulk 
of all sailing craft, many of which are of immense 
size and capable of carrying many hundreds of tons 
of cargo. The use of fore-and-aft sails on any but 
small boats is comparatively recent, however, and 
formerly all large craft were what are known as 
square-riggers. Although far more beautiful and 



VARIOUS RIGS 47 

stately than the schooners the square-rigged vessels 
gradually gave way to the more economical and handy 
fore-and-aft rigs and a few years ago one seldom saw 
a square-rigged vessel, save in out-of-the-way places. 
With the tremendous demand for ocean-going vessels, 
brought about by the European War, the square- 
riggers once more came into their own and today one 
may see ships, barks and brigs everywhere in the im- 
portant ports of the world. 

Although small boats are seldom square-rigged yet 
everyone who is fond of the sea and of boats should 
know something of square-rigged craft and should be 
familiar with the various rigs and their sails and, 
should know the proper names and terms to use in 
speaking of them. To the landsman, and to many 
sailors as well, the rigging of a square-rigged vessel 
appears most complicated and confusing, but in reality 
it is very simple. 

A great many people call every large vessel a "ship" 
and many more who can distinguish a sloop from a 
schooner, and a schooner from a yawl, fail to note the 
differences between the various square-rigs and call 
all square-rigged vessels "ships." As a matter of fact 
"ships" are only one type of square-rigged craft and 
it is just as erroneous to call a bark a "ship" as to call 
a sloop a "schooner." 

Oddly enough one may trace the transition from the 
original square-riggers to the modern fore-and-aft 
schooners by the various rigs, for the old square sails 
died hard and even after the many advantages of fore- 
and-aft sails were proven sailors still held tenaciously 




Sails of Square-rigged Vessels 

I — Topsail schooner. 2 — Brigantine. 3 — Brig (main course in 
dotted lines). 4 — Barkentine (with double topsails). 5 — Bark 
(with double topsails). 6 — Ship (with double topsails, fore and 
main skysails (mizzen course in dotted lines). 
Staysails are omitted in Figs. 3, 4, 5, 6. 



VARIOUS RIGS 49 

to certain square sails and thus many types of square- 
rigged vessels are combinations of the two forms and 
are really connecting links between true square-rig- 
gers and fore-and-aft rigs. 

This is the case with the so-called "topsail schoon- 
ers" which are almost a thing of the past in most 
countries but are still used in Newfoundland, the 
Canadian provinces and in parts of Europe. The top- 
sail schooner is essentially a two-masted, fore-and-aft 
schooner, but the foretopmast is equipped with yards 
bearing square sails, the lower sail being known as the 
foretopsail and the upper one as the foretopgallant- 
sail. Another step backward and we find the foremast 
equipped entirely with square sails, the fore-and-aft 
sail on the foremast missing and a fourth square sail 
above the foretopgallantsail. This rig is known as the 
brigantine, while in the rig known as a brig both 
masts carry square sails and in addition the mainmast 
is furnished with a fore-and-aft sail known as the 
spanker. In every square-rigged vessel thepe are a 
definite number of square sails on each mast and these 
always have the same name, although some vessels do 
not carry all of them. Thus, the lowest sail is the 
course, the next is the topsail, the next the topgallant- 
sail, the next the royal and the highest of all is the 
skysail. 

Formerly each of these sails was in one large piece, 
but in order to make it easier to handle them double 
topsails and double topgallantsails were invented and 
are now in general use. Thus one may see square- 
rigged vessels with seven instead of tive square sails on 



50 THE BOOK OF THE SAILBOAT 

each mast, but the names remain the same, the second 
and third sails above the deck becoming lower and 
upper topsails, and the two above these being lozver 
and upper topgallantsails. Many other vessels carry- 
double topsails and single topgallantsails, but one can 
always recognize these double sails as they are much 
narrower than the full sails. Comparatively few ves- 
sels carry skysails, many do not even carry royals 
and still others carry more on one mast than on an- 
other. 

Just as brigantines form a sort of connecting link 
between brigs and two-masted schooners so barken- 
tines and barks are connecting links between three- 
masted schooners and real ships. The barkentine has 
the forward mast square-rigged with the main and 
mizzen masts fore-and-aft rigged, while the bark has 
the fore and mainmast square-rigged and only the 
mizzen fore-and-aft rigged. Finally there is the true 
ship or "full rigged ship," as it is often called, in 
which all three masts are square-rigged with a small 
fore-and-aft spanker on the last, or mizzen, mast. 

In former years barks and ships never had more 
than three masts, but with the advent of steel hulls, 
and donkey engines to hoist and trim sails, four-, five- 
and even six-masted barks and ships came into use. It 
is sometimes difficult to tell whether these vessels are 
barks or ships, but if there is more than one mast 
fore-and-aft rigged they are properly barkentines, if 
only one mast is without square sails the vessel is a 
bark and if square sails are on all masts it is a ship; — 
regardless of how many masts there are. Just as fore- 



VARIOUS RIGS 51 

and-aft rigged vessels carry light sails to supplement 
the ordinary working sails, so square-rigged vessels 
often spread additional canvas when the winds are 
light or when greater speed is desired. Between the 
various masts staysails, shaped like jibs, are extended, 
while at times small sails known as studding sails or 
stunsails are set at the outer ends of the square sails. 
These light sails take the names of the masts or yards 
from which they are set and thus there are main and 
mizzen topmast and topgallant staysails; fore, main 
and mizzen topgallant and royal studding sails, etc. 

These great steel and iron square-riggers often have 
each of their masts in one piece or polemasts, but the 
older and typical square-rigged vessels had their masts 
made up of several pieces, each of which carried a sail, 
and the names of each section corresponded to the sail 
which it carried. Thus the lowest section was the 
mast proper, the piece above was the topmast, the 
next was the topgallant mast, the next the royal mast 
and the slenderest, uppermost part was the skysail 
pole. 

Each of these masts had its own stays and shrouds 
and between the masts triangular, jib-like sails known 
as staysails were set. These were named after the 
masts to which the upper ends were attached and thus 
the staysail which extended downward from the top 
of the topgallant mast was a topgallant staysail, etc. 

It will thus be seen that in order to know the names 
of all the sails on a square-rigged vessel it is only 
necessary to learn the names of the five parts of each 
mast, for every sail has the same name with the addi- 




Hull, Spars and Rigging of a Ship 
I — Jib boom. 2 — Bowsprit. 3 — Dolphin-striker or martingale. 4 — 
Cathead. 5 — Capstan. 6 — Cable. 7 — Stem or Cutwater. 8 — 
Hawse-pipe or hawse-hole. 9 — Starboard bow. 10 — Starboard 
beam. 11 — Waterline. 12 — Starboard quarter. 13 — Rudder. 
14 — Rudder post. 15 — Counter. 16 — Deck house or cuddy. 
17 — Fore royalmast. 18 — Main royalmast. 19 — Mizzen 
royalmast. 20 — Fore royalyard. 21 — Main royalyard. 22 — 
Mizzen royalyard. 23 — Fore topgallantmast. 24 — Main 
topgallantmast. 25 — Mizzen topgallantmast. 26 — Fore top- 
gallantyard. 27— Main topgallantyard. 28 — Mizzen top- 
gallantyard. 29 — Fore topmast. 30 — Main topmast. 31 — 
Mizzen topmast. 32 — Fore topsailyard. 33 — Main topsail- 
yard. 34 — Mizzen topsailyard. 35 — Foretop. 36 — Maintop. 
37 — Mizzentop. 38 — Foreyard. 39 — Mainyard. 40 — Mizzen, 
or Cross-jack, yard. 41 — Foremast. 42 — Mainmast. 43 — 
Mizzenmast. 44 — Foregaff, or fore-spencer-gaff. 45 — Trysail- 
gaff, or Main-spencer-gaff. 46 — Spanker-gaff. 47 — Spanker- 
boom. 48 — Bulwark, or rail. 49 — Starboard ports. 50 — Star- 
board scupper-holes. 51 — Starboard chain-plates. 
A, A, A — Fore, main and mizzen royal-stays. B — Flying- jib-stay. 
C, C, C — Fore, main and mizzen topgallant-stays. D — Jib- 
stay. E, E, E — Fore, main and mizzen topmast-stays. F, F, 
F — Fore, main and mizzen-stays. G, G — Fore and main-tacks. 
H, H, H — Fore, main and mizzen royal-lifts. I, I, I — Fore, 
main and mizzen topgallant-lifts. J, J, J — Fore, main and 
mizzen topsail-lifts. K, K, K — Fore, main and mizzen, or 
cross-jack, lifts. L, L, L — Fore, main and mizzen royal- 
braces. M, M, M — Fore, main and mizzen topgallant-braces. 



VARIOUS RIGS 53 

tion of fore, main, or mizzen as the case may be. The 
same is true of the yards, the stays, the halyards and 
every other part of a ship's rigging and so the seem- 
ingly complicated maze becomes very simple, for all 
you have to do it to learn the names of the various 
parts on one mast and prefix fore, main or mizzen to 
them for those on the other masts. 

Just as the little catboat has its stays, halyards and 
sheet, so the huge, towering ship has its stays and 
shrouds, sheets and halyards and the use of each is 
exactly the same as on the catboat with its single sail. 
The stays or shrouds always hold the masts in posi- 
tion and strengthen them. There are backstays, fore- 
stays and bobstays on every vessel, and each is desig- 
nated by the proper prefix of fore, main or mizzen, 
top, topgallant, royal, etc. 

The halyards are to hoist the sails and they take 
their names from the sails to which they are attached. 
The sheets are used to haul the sails flat and tight and 
they extend from the corners of the sails to the tips 
of the yards, but in addition there are many parts of 

Hull, Spars and Rigging of a Ship {continued) 
N, N, N — Fore, main and mizzen topsail-braces. O, O, O — Fore, 
main and mizzen, or cross-jack, braces. P, P, P — Fore, main 
and mizzen starboard shrouds. Q, Q, Q — Fore, main and mizzen 
backstays. ,R, R, R — Peak halyards. S, S, S — Trysail and 
spanker vangs. T, T — Fore and main sheets. U — Spanker top- 
ping-lift. V — Spanker sheet. W — Flying martingale. W' — 
Martingale stay. X — Bobstays. Y — Chafing gear. 
Note — Modern vessels carry double-topsails and often double 
topgallantsails also, in which case the words "upper" or "lower" 
are prefixed to the sails, spars and rigging of these sails. Skysails 
also are carried at times. These are small sails set on the skysail 
poles above the royal masts and their rigging takes the prefix 
"skysail." Spencers and trysails are often omitted and are obsolete, 
as are studding sails. 



54 THE BOOK OF THE SAILBOAT 

the rigging which have no counterpart on fore-and- 
aft-rigged vessels. For example, the braces are used 
to swing or set the yards in various positions, the 
clezvlines are used to gather up the sails ready for fur- 
ling and there are bimtlines, garnet-lines and many 
other lines which are only used on square-riggers and 
are of little interest, unless you expect to use a square 
rig or are interested in all things pertaining to sailing 
craft. 

It may sound foolish to speak of using a square rig, 
but one can have a lot of fun and can learn a great 
deal about ships and sailing by fitting up a small boat 
as a brig, bark, or ship. I once had a twenty- foot 
sharpie rigged as a miniature full-rigged ship. Of 
course there is no practical advantage in this, for the 
square rigs require a great deal of care, they do not 
sail as well as fore-and-aft rigs when tacking to wind- 
ward, and they should never be used, save as a means 
of recreation and for sailing on smooth waters, on a 
small boat. 

As to which is the best fore-and-aft rig to use on 
small boats there is a great diversity of opinion, for 
every boat sailor has his own ideas and his own 
favorite rig and what may prove very satisfactory to 
one person may not be at all satisfactory to another. 

The best method to follow in determining your rig 
is to weigh the advantages and disadvantages of each, 
adopt the one you think best suited to your special 
requirements and your boat and if this doesn't fulfill 
expectations try another. No two boats, even of the 
same model, sail just alike and often one rig will give 



VARIOUS RIGS 55 

far better results on one type of boat than on another 
while the character of the waters sailed, the prevalent 
winds, the size of the boat, its form, the purpose for 
which it is used and many other factors must be con- 
sidered when deciding upon a rig. 

If you are a beginner and your boat is small and 
open, a leg-o'-mutton or gunter sail will probably be 
as good as any, whereas if your boat is very stable or 
heavy, or if you sail where there are light winds, a 
lug, sprit or boom-and-gaff sail will be better. 

It is a great mistake to place too much sail on a 
boat for nothing is gained by it and the dangers of 
sailing are vastly increased. Too much sail on a boat 
will invariably and inevitably result in one of three 
things. If the boat is not wonderfully stable she will 
capsize, or will lean over until she swamps; if so 
heavy or stable that she still stands up, the wind will 
rip the sail or tear out the masts and if neither of 
these casualties occur she will simply "drag" sail and 
will handle badly. Every boat will sail to the very 
best advantage with a definite amount of sail and the 
amount will vary according to the breeze. Hence it 
is no economy to carry on with all sail in a heavy 
wind, for if the sail used is adapted to the boat for 
light winds it stands to reason it will be far too much 
in heavy weather. 

Flat-bottomed boats are usually very safe if prop- 
erly handled and not provided with too much sail, but 
owing to their shape they capsize very quickly once 
they are tipped a trifle too far. For this reason leg- 
o'-mutton or gunter sails should be selected for this 



56 THE BOOK OF THE SAILBOAT 

type of boat, partly because they offer a small area to 
the wind near their tops and because they have the 
quality of "spilling" the wind when at an angle and 
thus preventing the boat from being tipped danger- 
ously. A flat-bottomed boat may be sailed in perfect 
safety with these sails when lug or boom-and-gaff 
sails of the same area would be extremely dangerous. 

Another matter to remember is that a greater 
amount of sail may be safely carried as two or more 
sails than would be possible in a single sail, but for 
boats less than twenty feet over all a multiplicity of 
sails is a nuisance. The question of just how much 
sail should be carried is a very difficult one to answer, 
for boats vary in their stability and a great deal de- 
pends upon how they are handled and the skill of the 
sailor. For ordinary open boats used for pleasure 
where a single sail is carried, the sail area should not 
greatly exceed one and one-half times the number of 
square feet obtained by multiplying the boat's length 
by its extreme breadth. Thus a boat twenty feet long 
by five feet wide could safely carry one hundred and 
fifty square feet of canvas, but for safety this should 
be as low as possible. A sail fifteen feet high and 
seven feet wide might upset the boat before it would 
drive it along and yet a sail ten feet high and twelve 
feet wide might serve to sail the boat very well and 
without any danger of capsizing. At any rate, until 
you are thoroughly familiar with handling your boat 
and with the rudiments of sailing under all conditions, 
you should confine yourself to a small amount of sail 
and should make haste slowly. 

In addition to the fore-and-aft sails described 



VARIOUS RIGS 57 

there are many which are combinations, adaptations or 
improvements and which are known by different 
names. Among these are the French gunter in which 
the upper portion of the mast not only slides on the 
lower part but may be lowered like a gaff as well ; the 
leg-o'-mutton with a boom at the lower edge in place 
of the sprit; the various battened sails which are really 
lugsails fitted with light wooden strips, or battens, 
across them to keep the sails flatter and to make reef- 
ing easier; the old-fashioned lugsails which have no 
spar or boom at the lower edge ; the settee sails which 
have a boom and a much curved and very long upper 
yard like a lateen, and finally the Bermuda sails which 
are different from all. 

The Bermudians consider a boat's ability to carry 
sail in heavy weather and to sail close to the wind of 
the greatest importance and their boats and sails are 
designed primarily for these objects. The true Ber- 
muda sail is like a leg-o'-mutton with a curved lower 
edge and with the top point cut off and attached to a 
short piece of wood or club to which the halyard is 
fastened. In place of a boom there is a sprit-like pole 
which is provided with a small tackle on the mast end 
and the sail is set very flat by hauling out on this 
tackle, very much as in the leg-o'-mutton sail. The 
greatest peculiarity of the Bermuda rig is that the 
mast is set very far forward and leans or rakes sharp- 
ly backward and a good-sized jib is carried. It is a 
splendid rig for windward work, but is a bad rig 
before the wind and for amateur use is not to be 
recommended. 

For boats over twenty-five feet long nothing is 



58 THE BOOK OF THE SAILBOAT 

handier or better than the yawl rig. In the first place 
it is just as easy to sail as a sloop or jib-and-mainsail 
rig, for the tiny mizzen practically takes care of it- 
self. When coming to a mooring or to anchor the 
mainsail may be lowered and the boat handled under 
jib and mizzen and by hauling the mizzen close in and 
lowering the other sails the boat will lie right in the 
wind's eye when at moorings or riding out a gale. If 
in a narrow channel a yawl may actually be backed 
out by swinging the mizzen across the boat and low- 
ering the other sails and when tacking or coming 
about in a seaway or where there is a strong current 
the mizzen helps wonderfully and the boat's head may 
be quickly brought about by hauling the mizzen to 
windward. In case of a sudden squall or a heavy 
wind the boat may be sailed safely under jib and miz- 
zen and. best of all, when one is obliged to reef, it is 
not necessary to anchor or toss about helplessly and 
drift down the wind, for the mainsail may be lowered 
and reefed in comfort while holding on the course 
under jib and mizzen. 

Nevertheless the beginner should never attempt to 
learn to sail or handle a boat with a yawl, schooner, 
sloop or even a jib-and-mainsail rig. Commence with 
a single, simple sail, such as a sprit, a leg-o'-mutton, a 
gunter, a lug, a lateen or a gaff-and-boom sail and 
when you have become thoroughly accustomed to this, 
when you know how to sail and handle your simple 
boat and sail under all conditions, then and not until 
then, you may try your hand at craft with more sails 
and rigging. 



CHAPTER V 

HOW TO SAIL A SMALL BOAT 

The first thing you should learn to do if you expect 
to use a boat, is to learn to swim. A sailboat, prop- 
erly rigged, well built and intelligently handled, is as 
safe as a rowboat or a launch and is far safer than 
any canoe ever built, but under the best of conditions 
and even with experienced sailors, accidents will at 
times happen and then the fellow who can swim stands 
a far better chance than the chap who cannot. 

Excellent swimmers are drowned it is true, but that's 
in spite of their knowledge, not because of it. Even 
if you are never upset, never have an accident and are 
never called upon to save yourself or others, yet the 
knowledge of how to swim will be mighty valuable. 
In the first place it will give you and your companions 
greater confidence, and confidence and self-reliance 
are big assets when sailing a boat, especially under try- 
ing conditions. 

But because you can swim it doesn't follow that you 
should take to the water whenever an accident occurs. 

59 



60 THE BOOK OF THE SAILBOAT 

A good sailor always sticks to his ship and you should 
never forsake your boat, no matter what condition 
she's in, until compelled to desert her by her actually 
sinking under you. A water-logged or capsized boat 
will float for hours or days and will support several 
persons and when clinging to an upset or wrecked boat 
you stand a much better chance of being seen and res- 
cued than when swimming. 

Many a man has been drowned by leaving his upset 
boat and attempting to swim ashore when, by cling- 
ing to the craft, he would have been saved. This was 
the case with two friends of the author. There were 
three in the boat, all splendid swimmers, and they were 
capsized in a sudden squall several miles from shore. 
The occupants easily clambered upon the overturned 
hull and gave little heed to their predicament, as they 
knew that several boats and steamers were due to 
pass the spot where they were shipwrecked within a 
few hours. 

About half-a-mile distant a schooner, which was 
used as a temporary lightship, was anchored and finally 
one of the men suggested swimming to it. Feeling 
confident that he would have no difficulty in reaching 
the schooner he plunged overboard and swam rapidly 
away. Presently he turned and called to the others 
to follow and one of his companions did so, while the 
other wisely remained on the bottom of the boat. 

When about halfway to the schooner the foremost 
of the two swimmers threw up his hands and went 
down and a few moments later the other sank, but 
the sensible one of the trio, who stuck to the boat. 



HOW TO SAIL A SMALL BOAT 61 

was sighted and rescued by a passing craft an hour or 
two later and was none the worse for his experience. 

No matter how well you can swim always remem- 
ber that any solid object is far safer than the water 
and don't resort to swimming unless actually com- 
pelled to do so. 'Always bear in mind that it takes but 
a very little to support a person in the water — an old 
pail or bucket held perpendicularly and bottomside up, 
an open umbrella, an oar, a thwart, a spar, a grating 
or even a high hat. or a derby will serve to keep a 
human being afloat for a long time. 

Almost as important as the ability to swim is the 
ability to keep one's head and not get rattled under 
any and all conditions. The sailor should be able to 
move and act rapidly, surely and intelligently; he 
should possess decisiveness and judgment and should 
know just what to do and how to do it on the spur 
of the moment. When things go wrong is just the 
time for you to go right and many a trivial accident 
has become a tragedy through people losing their 
heads, tangling ropes or gear, jumping about heed- 
lessly and forgetting just what to do under the cir- 
cumstances. 

In boat sailing of all things make haste slowly and 
NEVER TAKE CHANCES. You can't be overcau- 
tious in a boat and it is far wiser to run for shelter 
or to shorten sail too soon or in a moderate wind than 
to wait too long or to carry too much sail in a hard 
blow. Wherever sailboats are used for pleasure one 
may see foolhardy men and boys sailing under full 
canvas in reefing weather and trying to show off but 



62 THE BOOK OF THE SAILBOAT 

to the man who knows, such actions da not speak of 
skill or ability but merely of ignorance and bravado. 
Don't mind if such reckless fools laugh at your cau- 
tion and think you are timid; the chances are that 
you'll be sailing about safely long after they are food 
for the fishes. 

Before attempting to learn to sail it is well to know 
something of the principles of sailing and just why a 
boat under sail does certain things. Many landsmen 
cannot understand how a boat can sail against the 
wind or how it can sail with the wind abeam or blow- 
ing from the side without tipping over, but it's really 
a very simple matter and if you understand why and 
how these things are accomplished you'll be able to 
handle your boat far better than if you merely learn 
to do certain things without understanding the reasons 
for them. 

Whenever the wind blows against a boat's sails it has 
two distinct effects ; one tending to push the boat side- 
ways and ahead, the other to push it over or upset it. 
The former tendency is desirable and must be en- 
couraged whereas the latter must be overcome or re- 
sisted. 

The resistance which a boat offers to the upsetting 
or "heeling" force is termed stability and the amount 
of stability which a boat possesses depends upon its 
model, its proportions, its weight and many other fac- 
tors. Many boats have enough stability to overcome 
the tendency to upset without any artificial aid, but as 
a rule sufficient stability can only be obtained by add- 
ing some weight or ballast at the bottom of the boat. 



HOW TO SAIL A SMALL BOAT 



63 



This may take the form of lead or iron on the keel, a 
weighted centerboard, or lead, sandbags or other 
weights in the bottom of the hull. 

When a boat is heeled over by the wind the sails 
act like a lever, with the fulcrum at the water line, 




Effect of Wind on Boats of Various Forms 

Shaded portions indicate leverage of hull against sail. Outlined 
rectangles show relative stability areas. 



while the hull below the water line represents the 
weight to be pried up. Of course you know that the 
longer the lever, beyond the fulcrum, as compared to 
the short end on the other side of the fulcrum, the 
greater is the power obtained. 

Thus the farther a boat tips over the less force can 
the wind on the sails exert, for with every inch that 
the boat heels the length of the lever decreases, as will 



64 THE BOOK OF THE SAILBOAT 

be seen by the accompanying diagram. For this rea- 
son a boat tips much more easily when upright than 
after it has heeled over a bit and for the same reason 
a shallow or ( flat-bottomed boat tips more readily than 
a deep hull. 

It would be perfectly feasible to build a boat so deep 
that it would not tip at all, and likewise a boat could 
be built so heavy, or with so much ballast, that the 
leverage of the sails would be unable to heel it in the 
least. But neither of these schemes would be prac- 
tical. If the boat was built too deep it would offer so 
much resistance to the water that the sails could not 
drive it forward and if built too heavy or if it carried 
too much ballast, it would be slow, clumsy and the 
sails and masts might be carried away before the boat 
moved. 

Moreover it is not desirable to prevent a boat from 
tipping to a certain extent. Many boats sail at their 
best while heeled at a sharp angle and the tendency to 
tip also serves as a sort of safety valve by spilling the 
wind from the sails and warning the sailor that too 
much sail is being carried and thus serving a very use- 
ful purpose. Hence, in order to make boats safely 
stable without making them heavy, slow or clumsy, 
various forms of hulls and various methods of ballast- 
ing are adopted. 

For example, if a boat is made very broad and shal- 
low the result, when tipped, will be almost the same 
as if the hull was made very deep and narrow but 
the resistance to the water will be overcome. As the 
hull is tipped up by the leverage of the masts the 



HOW TO SAIL A SMALL BOAT 65 

upper side acts as a weight which must be lifted, and 
exerts just as great a counter-leverage as if the weight 
was under water. But instead of presenting a large 
surface with its attendant friction to the water the 
area of the boat's surface is reduced the more it is 
tipped. 

Such broad, flat hulls are very stiff, up to a certain 
point, and boats built in this manner are usually very 
fast when heeling far over, but when they are tipped 
a single inch beyond a certain point the weight of the 
raised side acts with the lever and flops the boat over 
in an instant. When a hull thus shaped is provided 
with a centerboard or a weighted keel it becomes far 
more stable. Many of the fastest racing boats are of 
this type, a form designed to sail the very best when 
heeled far over with half the bottom out of water. 
To add to the stability under such conditions the bows 
and sterns are cut away for a long distance so that 
when sailing on a level keel the surface in contact 
with the water is very small, while the further they 
tip to one side or the other the greater the length is 
increased. 

But in every case, whether stability is obtained by 
great breadth or beam, by extreme depth from deck to 
keel, by ballast inside or outside, by fin-keel or other- 
wise, you should remember that the further under 
water the ballast is placed the less will be required. 
Always bear in mind that ballast or weight on the 
downward or lee side aids the boat in tipping, where- 
as the same weight, on the upper side, prevents it and 
that the weight placed on the high side will exert 



66 THE BOOK OF THE SAILBOAT 

many times the force of the same weight in the center 
of the boat. 

Often by sitting far out on the upper or weather 
edge of a boat, she may be sailed in safety through 
winds that would capsize her if you sat inside the 
cockpit. If a plank or board was extended out from 
the weather side and you perched upon that the boat 
would be still harder to upset and it is by such methods 
that the natives of the South Seas sail their catama- 
rans and proas at terrific speed and with huge sails 
out of all proportion to the hulls. Sometimes one 
may see a "flying proa" tearing along in a perfect gale 
with half a dozen persons hanging on to the slender 
outrigger extending from the weather side, and by 
their weight alone preventing the queer craft from 
turning turtle. 

All the above remarks refer to stability, but there 
is another factor which must be considered and which 
is known as lateral resistance, or in other words, the 
resistance offered to the water when moving sideways. 
A boat might be very stable and yet it might be worth- 
less if it did not possess lateral resistance, for in that 
case it would merely slide sideways instead of going 
ahead and a properly designed boat must combine both 
stability and lateral resistance to the highest possible 
degree. 

When sailing in any direction, save directly before 
the wind, there is a strong sideways pressure against 
the sails and unless the boat is provided with some 
means of overcoming this she will slip sideways or 
diagonally or will make "leeway," as a sailor would 



HOW TO SAIL A SMALL BOAT 67 

say. Deep, narrow boats have great lateral resistance 
but their resistance to the water when moving for- 
ward is also great and hence the lateral resistance is 
usually obtained by means of deep, narrow keels, cen- 
terboard or leeboards. The knife-like keel offers little 
resistance to the water when moving forward but 
great resistance when moving sideways, while the cen- 
terboard may be pulled up entirely when moving for- 
ward with a wind from the rear, thus still further re- 
ducing the friction against the water. 

If the boat possesses stability and lateral resistance 
and is properly rigged the wind blowing against the 
sails will have a tendency to force the stern of the 
craft away from the wind and the bow towards it. 
To overcome this the rudder must be turned until the 
pressure of the water against it has enough force to 
balance the action of the wind on the sails. 

A properly rigged boat, if left to herself with rud- 
der loose and sails set, will swing up into the wind of 
her own accord; in a few moments she will fall off, 
sail a short distance and again come into the wind and 
lose headway and will repeat this operation over and 
over again without danger of upsetting. 

If, on the other hand, her sails are not adapted 
to her, if she is badly designed or improperly rigged, 
she will sail faster and faster, will fall more and more 
away from the wind and finally the sail will flop 
over to the other side and the boat will be upset or 
mast, sails and rigging will be carried away. Such a 
boat is a perfect deathtrap and should be avoided by 
all means. 



68 THE BOOK OF THE SAILBOAT 

Always try a new, boat or a new rig to see how it 
will act if the helm is left when sails are set. If the 
boat comes up in the wind quickly of her own accord 
you may be sure she will come about readily when re- 
quired and that she will take care of herself if at any 
time you are compelled to leave the tiller for a few 
moments. But don't condemn the boat if she falls off 
and sails away as I have described. As a rule this 
fault lies in the rig rather than in the boat itself and 
often a slight alteration in the shape or size of the 
sails or even the position of the mast will make all the 
difference between a safe and a dangerous boat. 

If the sails are too far forward a boat may have a 
tendency to fall off and take a hard lee helm, whereas 
if too far aft the boat may have such a hard weather 
helm that it is impossible to prevent her from swing- 
ing up into the wind. Then again, the mast and sail 
may be in the right position and the sail may have its 
greatest area too far forward or too far aft, or the 
rudder may be too small. Try various adjustments 
before deciding the craft is hopeless and strive to have 
your boat so arranged that when sailing close-hauled 
a slight pressure must be exerted on the tiller to pre- 
vent her from coming into the wind or luffing, while 
just the instant this pressure is released she will swing 
up in the wind's eye with the sail fluttering and will 
hang there indefinitely, merely falling off, coming up 
again and remaining practically stationary in one 
place. 

To a great many people it appears remarkable that 
a boat can sail against the wind ,but it is a very simple 



HOW TO SAIL A SMALL BOAT 69 

matter indeed and depends upon the same principles 
which make a kite fly, an aeroplane rise or a windmill 
turn. In every case the result is brought about by the 
pressure of the wind upon a curved or angular sur- 
face and while the boat and windmill depend upon the 
wind to move them and the aeroplane produces the 
wind by moving rapidly through still air, yet the re- 
sults in each case are identical and the object, unable 
to move away from the wind moves against it or at 
right angles to it. 

Whenever a moving mass of matter, such as air or 
water, strikes a curved surface two effects result, the 
first being to force the object aside, the other to force 
it ahead by what is known as "reaction." If a solid 
object, such as a bullet, strikes a slanting surface it 
glances off and frequently it loses very little of its 
force in doing so. The wind, when striking a curved 
surface, glances off and exerts its force at an angle. 

The pressure of this glancing blow and the force 
exerted by the wind against the surrounding air as it 
slides off the sail, has a tendency to force the sail, or 
other surface, ahead. The direction in which the ob- 
ject is forced and the power required to move it de- 
pend upon the curve or angle which is presented to the 
wind. 

The broader the angle at which the wind strikes, the 
less loss of force there is and the greater the power 
which the wind exerts upon the sail. Thus, when the 
wind is directly against the sail, very little power is 
wasted and the whole force drives the boat ahead as 
none of the wind can glance off. If the boat is 



70 THE BOOK OF THE SAILBOAT 

brought around until the wind blows from one side 
and the sail is pulled in until it is at an angle, the wind 
exerts a combined sideways and forward pressure and 
the boat sails at right angles to the wind; whereas if 
the sail is drawn still closer towards the center of the 
boat and the craft is headed nearer to the wind, the 
wind skips off the sail producing but little forward or 
sideways pressure but. forcing the boat almost against 
the direction from which the wind blows. But if the 
boat is headed too close to the wind and the sail hauled 
in too near the center of the boat no headway will be 
made for the wind will then slip off the sail without 
exerting enough force to move the boat forward. If 
you will ahvays bear these facts in mind you will 
find it far easier to learn to sail and you will also 
understand why you should always let your sail out 
as far as possible without letting it flutter or "spill" 
the wind. 

Having thoroughly mastered these simple principles 
of why a boat sails you can safely start to learn how 
to handle your boat. If possible, have an experienced 
sailor go with you when learning; you will find his 
advice worth more than all the printed directions in 
the world, but even alone you'll have no trouble in 
learning to sail if you take plenty of time, master one 
thing thoroughly before trying another and use com- 
mon sense and judgment. Before leaving shore or 
the anchorage be sure that everything is in the boat 
and in the proper place. There should be oars and 
oarlocks, a bailer, an anchor and plenty of line and all 
ropes should be neatly coiled where they are free to 




~2 \ 



<i 






Sailing 

i — Before the wind or running free. 2 — With wind on the quarter. 
3 — Beam wind or reaching. 4 — Head wind or close hauled. 5 — 
Tacking or beating to windward. 6 — Going about with boat 
carrying a jib. 7 — Making a long and short leg. 8 — How a 
wind acts on a boat close hauled. 9 — Jibing. 10 — Wearing 
ship. 1 1 — Tacking off the wind to avoid beam seas. 



72 THE BOOK OF THE SAILBOAT 

run out without becoming kinked, caught or tangled. 

Make it a point always to keep the sheet clear and 
never tie it or make it fast when sailing. More acci- 
dents to sailboats have resulted from a tangled or fast 
sheet than from any other one cause. 

When hoisting sail the sheet should be left slack 
enough to allow the sail to swing freely from side to 
side, but it should not be entirely free or the sail may 
swing out at right angles and strike some neighboring 
boat or obstruction, or it may even wrap itself about 
the mast and cause no end of trouble. 

It is best to commence sailing "on the wind" or 
with the wind from one side or partly over the stern, 
for this is the easiest and safest kind of sailing. In 
this position most boats sail their best and obtain their 
greatest speed. If the wind is directly from one side 
the sail should be eased off until the forward edge 
commences to flutter, but if the wind is over the quar- 
ter the sail must be trimmed in order to be at as 
nearly a right angle to the wind as possible, as shown 
in the diagrams. 

If, when sailing with a beam or quarter wind, you 
wish to turn about you should always haul in your 
sheet, push the tiller to leeward — away from the wind 
— and bring the boat up into the wind until the sail 
swings to the other side, when you may gradually 
ease-off the sheet until sailing as before. 

If you attempt to turn about without doing this the 
sail will swing violently across from one side to the 
other, or in sailors' parlance, will jibe and while an 
experienced hand will jibe a boat with perfect safety 



HOW TO SAIL A SMALL BOAT 73 

an amateur is very likely to capsize or to carry away 
masts and rigging. 

It may seem at first as if sailing right before the 
wind would be the easiest thing to accomplish, but this 
is a great mistake. To sail before the wind, save in 
very light airs and with a small sail, requires a great 
deal of care and not a little skill. 

A great many boats have a tendency to yaw or to 
swing wildly from side to side when thus sailing and 
when this is the case the sail is very likely to jibe with 
serious results. Even if this does not happen the sail 
may bag out and make the boat steer hard or the boom 
may "kick up" and become almost unmanageable. If 
allowed to swing out too far the boat may refuse tO' 
obey its helm and will swing around to the wind, re- 
gardless of your efforts to keep it on its course, while 
if kept in too closely the wind may catch it on the 
wrong side and jibe it suddenly. 

In a heavy sea there is the added danger of the boom 
catching in a wave and "tripping" and either up- 
setting the boat or jibing as a result. If your boat 
yaws, if the boom kicks up badly, or if there is much 
of a wind, don't try to sail before the wind but sail 
partly side to it and go about every little while and 
thus zigzag towards your destination as shown in the 
sketch. If, while sailing before the wind or with a 
beam wind, you should desire to alter your course 
and bring the sail over the opposite side, don't turn 
away from the wind and jibe the sail, but haul in the 
sheet, turn into the wind and swing about in a circle 
until the sail is on the opposite side and you are headed 



74 THE BOOK OF THE SAILBOAT 

in the desired direction. This manner of turning 
about when sailing free or before the wind, is called 
wearing ship and to perform the evolution neatly and 
in a sailor-like manner will require some practice, for 
the sail must be hauled in and the helm put over at 
the same time and in perfect unison. 

If the helm is put down too quickly the sail will flap 
and thrash and the boat may not come about, whereas 
if the sail is hauled in too rapidly and the helm is not 
thrown over promptly the boat may be tipped danger- 
ously. Sometimes, however, it becomes necessary to 
jibe, while at other times a sudden shift of wind or 
some other cause may make a boat jibe despite every 
effort to prevent it. 

When it becomes necessary to jibe, or if it is seen 
that it cannot be avoided, haul in the sheet just as 
rapidly as possible and just as soon as the boom passes 
the center of the boat pay out the sheet smoothly and 
quickly so that there will be no sudden jerk or pull as 
the wind swings the sail over. If there is much wind 
blowing it is a wise plan to lower the peak of the sail 
before jibing and when sailing before the wind drop- 
ping the peak will often make the boat sail better. 

In sailing before the wind it is very important to 
have the boat ballasted or "trimmed" correctly. If 
there is too much weight near the bow the boat will 
invariably yaw and may bury her nose and swamp 
herself. On the other hand, if there is too much weight 
near the stern she may steer badly, but this is never 
as bad nor as dangerous as having her down by the 
head. If the boom has a tendency to jibe, to swing 



HOW TO SAIL A SMALL BOAT 75 

badly or to kick up, it often helps a great deal to bring 
down the side over which the boom swings, by plac- 
ing passengers, cargo or ballast on that side. If you 
are using a centerboard boat the board should be 
hauled up when before the wind and many boats will 
sail better with a beam or quarter wind when the board 
is half up, but the only way to determine when the 
board should be partly up, fully up, or down is to ex- 
periment. Some boats come about more quickly with 
the board up; others refuse to come round unless it is 
down, and some sail better with the board down, even 
when dead before the wind. When tacking or sailing 
on the wind the board should always be down, how- 
ever. 

As a rule a boat should be trimmed so that the stern 
is a little deeper than the bow and while the effect of a 
badly trimmed boat is more evident when sailing be- 
fore the wind, yet in sailing on the wind a little fault 
in the proper distribution of weight may make a vast 
difference in the behavior of the boat. 

When you have become thoroughly accustomed to 
handling your boat on the wind you may try tacking 
or sailing to windward or against the wind. As I 
have already explained no boat will sail directly against 
the wind, but by sailing as close to it as possible in 
one direction, then turning and sailing as close as you 
can in the opposite direction and repeating the opera- 
tion at intervals progress may be made directly to- 
wards the wind. 

This is known as "tacking" or "beating" and while 
it requires considerable skill and practice to beat to 



76 THE BOOK OF THE SAILBOAT 

windward to the best advantage yet it is not difficult 
to learn to tack and one can only become proficient by 
practice and by becoming thoroughly familiar with 
the boat. 

Some boats will sail far closer to the wind than 
others and every boat has a certain point at which she 
will sail to windward to the best advantage. The 
nearer the boat is headed into the wind the closer or 
"flatter" the sail must be "trimmed" or hauled in and 
there is always a point at which the vessel loses head- 
way and falls off the wind. For this reason it is a 
waste of time to try to sail too close to the wind and 
the objective point will be reached far quicker by head- 
ing off more and obtaining greater speed and making 
frequent tacks, than by attempting to head nearer the 
direction you desire to go and then losing almost as 
much as you gain by the boat's sliding to leeward. 

The idea is to keep your boat pointed as near the 
wind as she will sail well and the sails should be 
trimmed in until quite flat each time you tack. Then, 
as the boat swings over on the other tack, the sail 
should be eased off a bit to obtain headway and the 
boat should be again headed towards the wind until 
the edge of the sail begins to flutter and wrinkle. This 
shows you are sailing as close to the wind as advisable 
and to sailors it is known as sailing full and by. Every 
few moments the boat may be brought a trifle closer 
to the wind and then eased off so that the sail is al- 
ways filled and yet the edge, by its fluttering, shows the 
helmsman that the sheet is trimmed properly. 

Some boats have a remarkable power of "eating 



HOW TO SAIL A SMALL BOAT 77 

into" the wind in this way and although headed quite 
a bit off the wind will progress almost directly into 
the wind's eye. If the wind is quite stiff a great deal 
may also be gained by luffing up from time to time, or 
in other words bringing the boat directly into the 
wind, allowing her to shoot ahead for a short distance 
and before she loses headway bringing her off until 
she catches the wind again. 

A great deal of the skill in tacking depends upon 
one's ability to judge just when to come about on the 
other tack. Very few boats will sail equally well on 
both tacks and as soon as you find on which tack your 
boat sails best you can make your longest tacks or 
"lays" on that tack and make shorter tacks when sail- 
ing with the wind on the other bow. 

To make too many short tacks is a mistake for each 
time you go about you lose a trifle of what you have 
gained, but to make tacks which are too long is also a 
mistake, for you travel a great deal further than is 
necessary in this way. As a rule a long and a short 
leg is the best method to follow. This consists of 
making long tacks, or lays, close to the wind and then 
going about and making shorter and quicker reaches 
in the other direction a little farther off the wind. All 
of these maneuvers are illustrated in the diagrams 
and by studying these you will readily see just how the 
boat may be sailed directly to windward. 

When ready to go about on a new tack the boat 
should always be eased off a little, the sails loosened 
lightly and as soon as the speed increases the rudder 
should be thrown hard over, the tiller being pushed 



78 THE BOOK OF THE SAILBOAT 

away from the wind. As the boat wheels about the 
sheet should be hauled in briskly until it begins to fill 
on the opposite side. Then ease it off gradually until 
good headway is made and trim in and head up to the 
wind as before. 

When tacking with other persons in the boat you 
should always signal before going about or tacking by 
crying, "Ready about" and as the boat is brought into 
the wind, call, "Hard-a-lee" and at these words your 
passengers should duck their heads as the boom 
swings over or should shift their seats to the other 
side of the boat if she heels over very much. 

Some boats have a tendency to remain hanging in 
the wind when brought about or else come into the 
wind and fall off on the same tack again. This is 
known as missing stays and when it occurs you should 
swing the boat's head around by an oar over the stern 
or hold the boom or sail far over to windward until 
the bow swings around. If the boat has a centerboard 
she may often be brought about quickly by raising the 
board as you swing her into the wind and then drop- 
ping it again as the sail fills away on the other tack. 

If the boat carries a jib she will seldom miss stays 
if the jib is hauled flat as you go about and is kept 
sheeted to windward until the other sails fill away on 
the other tack. Then the windward sheet of the jib 
should be eased off and the leeward sheet should be 
trimmed in as shown in the illustration. 

Usually a well built boat, if properly trimmed and 
rigged, will seldom miss stays except in heavy seas 
or in a very light wind or a strong current and often a 



HOW TO SAIL A SMALL BOAT 79 

boat under reefed sails will come about more easily 
and will sail to windward far better than under full 
canvas. 

Remember that a boat's sheets can be trimmed flat- 
ter in light winds and smooth waters than in rough 
seas and strong winds and that even a comparatively- 
small sea will cause the sail to swing and spill the wind 
and thus lose headway. 

Don't forget that when a boat, sailing close-hauled 
is to be turned so as to sail off the wind the sheets 
must be eased off as she swings about and in the same 
way a boat sailing free must have her sheets hauled 
in as you bring her up into the wind. 

The foregoing directions apply to boats with one 
sail only and it is best to learn to sail with such a craft 
and then you will find it much easier to learn to handle 
a boat with headsails or jibs. 

Many small boats have the jib sheet attached to a 
sliding block or ring which can move from side to 
side on a traveler and when thus arranged the jib 
requires little or no attention when tacking. 

As a rule, however, the jib has two sheets, one on 
either side, which lead aft and in tacking these re- 
quire attention. As the boat is turned into the wind 
the lee sheet is let go, the jib flutters and the instant 
the mainsail begins to fill on the other tack the jib 
sheet should be trimmed flat as before, and then, as 
the boat pays off on the new tack the sheets may be 
trimmed to obtain the best results. 

One advantage of a jib is that in case the boat 
misses stays, or fails to come about readily, her head 



80 THE BOOK OF THE SAILBOAT 

may be brought around by keeping the lee jib sheet 
trimmed until the boat swings around and if the main 
boom is held far towards the lee side at the same 
time the boat will be almost certain to pay off. 

If for any reason she refuses and commences to 
move backwards don't forget that the tiller must be 
turned in the same direction as that in which you wish 
the head of the boat to go, or in other words, in ex- 
actly the opposite direction to that in which you would 
turn it if moving ahead. 

If a boat misses stays in heavy wind or squalls, ease 
off the main sheet, lower the peak a little and trim the 
jib to the windward. Then if the boat does not gather 
headway but heels, lower the mainsail at once. When 
sailing on the wind with a jib and mainsail, trim the 
lee jib sheet to get the full benefit of the sail and if 
running before the wind either lower the jib or "wing 
it out" on the opposite side to the mainsail by means 
of a light sprit, a boat-hook or an oar, so it, will catch 
the wind. 

When you are thoroughly familiar with sailing be- 
fore the wind, on the wind and against the wind in 
light breezes and smooth water, you should practice 
coming to a mooring or a landing. The ability to 
make a good landing marks a good sailor and nothing 
looks worse or bespeaks poorer seamanship than to 
make a clumsy landing. 

Never attempt to make a landing or a mooring until 
you have learned just how far your boat will luff or 
"shoot" ahead when brought into the wind. By try- 
ing a number of times you can soon determine this 



HOW TO SAIL A SMALL BOAT 81 

and a mighty good plan is to practice luffing up to a 
stake or a float in the water. 

When approaching a mooring or landing try to 
approach it from the leeward side; sail as nearly into 
the wind as possible and when you are near enough 
so that you think the boat will shoot to the mooring 
by her own momentum, bring her right into the wind's 
eye and ease off the sheet so that the sail flutters and 
then steer the boat as close to the mooring as you can. 

Never attempt to shoot the boat to the windward 
side of a mooring or landing if it can be avoided, but 
come up with the mooring or landing on your wind- 
ward side. 

If conditions are such that you cannot approach the 
mooring or landing from the lee side and you are com- 
pelled to run for it before the wind or with a beam 
wind, there are two methods which may be followed. 
One is to lower sail and let the boat run to the moor- 
ing under bare poles and the other is to ease off the 
sheet until the sail offers no surface to the wind. 
When coming before the wind the former method is 
the only right one and in order not to approach too 
rapidly it is a good plan to drop most of the sail long 
before the landing is reached and leave just the upper 
portion raised so as to catch the wind and carry the 
boat along very slowly. Then, when close to the 
mooring, drop this and drift slowly to the spot where 
you are to make fast. 

If you are using a boat with a jib that sail should 
be lowered as you approach your moorings and you 
should come to the place under mainsail alone, as a jib 



82 THE BOOK OF THE SAILBOAT 

as always in the way when going forward to make 
fast, and, moreover, it will frequently catch a puff of 
wind and force the head of the boat off at just the 
wrong instant. 

If you are coming up to a dock or wharf don't run 
to it head-on if it can be avoided, but run slanting to- 
wards it or alongside, for in that case if your boat 
has too much headway it will merely strike the dock 
a glancing blow and do little, if any, damage, where- 
as the same blow head-on might start a plank or tim- 
ber or cause other serious damage. 

These remarks apply to fairly good sized sailboats 
and if you are sailing in a very small open boat it is 
often easier to take in sail and row to a mooring than 
to sail to it. 

When getting away from a mooring or dock some 
skill and practice are required, especially if in waters 
where there are numerous other boats. If you are on 
the lee side of a dock it is very easy to hoist sail, trim 
the sheets flat, shove off the bow and start away; but 
if on the windward side and you hoist sail the wind 
will force your craft against the dock and make get- 
ting under way very difficult. At such times the best 
plan is to row or pole your boat out from the dock 
before hoisting sail and then get under way in open 
water. 

If at a mooring or an anchorage the boat's head 
may be swung off the wind by hauling in the anchor 
from the lee side or by holding the sail far over to 
windward, but in every case you should look about, de- 
cide on your course and make a mental note of the 



HOW TO SAIL A SMALL BOAT 83 

position of neighboring craft before getting away from 
your moorings. 

When coming to an anchorage have the anchor 
ready to drop and the anchor line coiled so it will run 
out readily. When you reach the spot selected, luff 
up, allow the boat to lose her headway and then drop 
your anchor by casting it ahead of the boat. 

If you cast your anchor out while the boat is still 
moving ahead your boat will overrun it and it may 
not get a good hold on the bottom, to say nothing of 
the danger of getting the line entangled with the 
flukes. If coming to an anchorage before the wind, 
drop the sails, and wait until the boat loses headway 
and if on the wind either lower sails or let the sheet 
flow. 

Never, under any circumstances, allow the sheet to 
run out entirely for there is never any necessity of 
allowing the sail to swing out beyond right angles to 
the boat. If it swings farther it becomes a source of 
danger. 

Never walk along the lee side of the boat when the 
sheet is loose and the sail is swinging, but move on 
the windward side and avoid any danger of being 
knocked overboard by the swinging boom and flapping 
sail. 

When you have learned to sail in all directions in 
smooth weather and have learned how to get under 
way and how to come to moorings you should put in 
some time learning how to reef quickly. 

Reefing consists in shortening sail by tying a por- 
tion of it to the mast or spar and small ropes known 



84 THE BOOK OF THE SAILBOAT 

as reef points are sewed into the sail for this purpose. 
Some boats have sails with only one set of reef points ; 
others have two, and others have three or more, but 
when a sail is reefed the reefs should be taken one at 
a time beginning with the one nearest the mast or 
spar. 

At the end of the row of reef points near the free 
edge of the sail there is a hole or eyelet known as a 
cringle and as this is on the leech of the sail it is 
called the leech cringle. A similar cringle is on the op- 







* I 

Reefing a Sail 
A — Sail before reefing. B — Sail after reefing. 

posite edge or luff of the sail. This applies to boom- 
and-gaff, lug or other sails with a boom or spar at the 
lower edge. Through these cringles lines known as 
earrings are passed and these may be left in the 
cringles permanently or they may be taken out when 
not in use, as you prefer. 

To reef the sail bring the boat into the wind, trim 
the sheet in until the boom cannot swing beyond the 
sides of the boat, lower the sail about halfway and 
then lash the first luff cringle to the boom with the 
earring, tying it in a reefing, knot which can be readily 
cast off. Then pass the luff earring through its 
cringle, pass it through the hole in the boom made for 



HOW TO SAIL A SMALL BOAT 85 

that purpose and haul the sail out as taut as possible 
and make the earring fast. 

Then beginning at the luff cringle, roll the sail 
neatly to the first reef points and tie each reef point 
in turn around the bottom of the sail where it is fas- 
tened to the boom or, if there is no space to pass the 
points between sail and boom, tie them around the 
boom, being very careful to use square or reef knots 
when doing so. 

When all the points are tied hoist away the sail and 
you are ready to proceed. If a second reef is required 
repeat the operation with the second row of points 
and cringles. Then, when the wind lulls, one reef 
after another can be shaken out by untying the reef 
points, casting off the leech earring and then casting 
off the luff earring and hoisting the sail until taut. 

Don't wait too long before reefing. If the boat 
heels badly on the wind, if it labors, if it takes a hard 
helm or if the wind is puffy, squally or strong, reef at 
once. It's far easier to shake out your reefs if the 
wind falls than it is to take in a reef when the wind 
is blowing hard and a heavy sea is running. 

Finally, when you come to your moorings, to your 
landing-place or to an anchorage, never leave your 
boat with the sails loose, slovenly and unfurled. In the 
first place it looks badly and stamps you as a poor 
sailor; in the second place it soon ruins the sail and 
finally, if a hard wind comes up, the sail is liable to 
become loose, to catch the wind and either tear the sail 
to pieces or capsize the boat. 

Make it an invariable rule to do things in a regular 



86 THE BOOK OF THE SAILBOAT 

routine every time you come to a mooring or leave 
it. As soon as you are fast to your mooring lower the 
sails, trim the boom amidships, roll the sail neatly 
and tie it to the boom by short pieces of line or by one 
long rope wrapped around and around it. Don't com- 
mence furling the sail at the outer end of the boom, 
but place the first line or "stop" close to the mast and 
keep pulling out the excess slack as you work out- 
wards along the boom and you will soon find it a very 
simple, easy thing to furl your sails very neatly. 

When all is snugly furled, hoist away until the sail 
is lifted slightly and either place a crotch under it, 
lower it and draw the sheet taut, or else fasten a rope 
from the boom to both sides of the boat so the sail 
cannot swing as the boat sways and rolls to the waves. 

It is a good plan to have a sail cover of waterproof 
cloth or heavy canvas with which to cover the furled 
sail and by using this your sails will always be pro- 
tected from rain and mildew and will remain strong, 
white and in good shape. 

Finally, see that everything about the boat is in its 
place, that all lines and ropes are neatly coiled and that 
nothing is left to swing, rattle or work loose; that the 
centerboard, if the boat has one, is pulled up in its 
case and secured ; that the tiller is lashed amidships, or 
is slipped out of the rudder head and that everything 
is snug and shipshape. 



CHAPTER VI 



THE CARE OF BOATS 



Every boat, no matter how small, requires a certain 
amount of care and attention and this is a matter 
which is all too often neglected. 

The larger the boat the more care it will require, 
while boats in salt water need far more attention than 
those in fresh water. 

If a boat is pulled up on shore, or is placed in a 
boathouse when not in use, it will require less care 
than a craft kept in the water at an anchorage or moor- 
ings, but even when thus hauled out there are a certain 
number of things which must be attended to. 

Boats in the water are subject to the action of the 
water, the depredations of marine animals, the growth 
of marine plants and to the dangers from storms. 
Unless these are guarded against and overcome a 
boat will soon be worthless. In fresh water the effect 
of the water upon wood and metal is far less injurious 
than in salt water and the troubles from animal life 
and water plants are almost negligible. When in salt 

87 



88 THE BOOK OF THE SAILBOAT 

water these things are among the most important 
matters to be guarded against and constant care and 
watchfulness are necessary if a boat is to be kept in 
good condition. 

Salt water corrodes and rusts iron very rapidly and 
hence boats with plain iron fastenings and fittings 
should be avoided for salt water use. Copper or brass 
fastenings and brass or bronze fittings are far better, 
but these are expensive. Galvanized iron is therefore 
adopted very generally for salt water use on boats. 

Even when a boat is well painted and the iron parts 
are thus protected, the salt water will corrode and 
destroy the iron work and just as soon as the paint 
becomes old, thin, worn or chipped off, the parts go 
to pieces very rapidly. For this reason boats should 
always be kept well painted and varnished at all times, 
and whenever a bit of paint is rubbed or knocked off, 
it should immediately be touched up with fresh paint. 

In salt water, too, marine animals and seaweeds 
attach themselves to every submerged portion of a 
boat's hull and grow very rapidly. 

Not only do these growths hinder a boat from sail- 
ing well and rapidly, but they also destroy the paint 
and injure the wood beneath it. This paves the way 
for the water to soak into the planks and timbers and 
rot them and corrode the metal fastenings which hold 
the various parts of the boat together. 

Still more injurious are the shipworms or teredos. 
These are marine animals which are not really worms 
at all, but are a species of mollusc related to the com- 
mon clam. They do not eat the wood, as many people 



THE CARE OF BOATS 89 

think, but merely bore into it to form their homes or 
burrows, and wherever they go they line their holes 
with a thin coating of lime or shell. 

The shipworms are very small when they first enter 
the wood and as they increase in size they bore larger 
and larger holes until they riddle the wood with bur- 
rows and completely destroy it. No signs, however, 
save a few tiny holes, may be visible externally. So 
rapidly do they work if unchecked that large ships 
have been sunk by them in less than a year and there 
are several records of such catastrophes occurring. 

Teredos seldom attack wood which is far below the 
surface but work mostly at or near the water line. 
For that reason small boats of shallow draft are often 
more seriously and rapidly injured by these pests than 
larger and deeper boats. 

Moreover the shipworms seek spots which are out 
of sight for their depredations and unless the boat- 
owner is very careful he may overlook very serious 
injuries by the teredos without dreaming that they 
exist. The cracks between keels and sternposts, be- 
tween keels and garboard planks and the interior or 
centerboard trunks and cases are favorite spots for 
teredos to bore and quite often the timbers in such 
situations are completely destroyed and the boat is 
rendered worthless before one realizes that teredos 
have attacked the boat at all. 

But even without marine growths and teredos the 
planks and timbers of a boat may become rotten and 
useless through the action of the water. This is par- 
ticularly the case where a boat rests upon a muddy 



90 THE BOOK OF THE SAILBOAT 

bottom at low tide, for the mud contains gases and 
chemicals which destroy the paint and this allows the 
water to penetrate and rot the wood. 

To guard against these three principal dangers every 
boat should be hauled out at frequent intervals, the 
bottom should be scrubbed, scraped and cleaned, and 
should then be allowed to dry thoroughly, after which 
it should be freshly painted with some reliable and 
good anti-fouling bottom paint such as the various 
copper paints. Large boats are usually sheathed or 
covered with copper plates below the water line in 
order to protect the wood, but small boats depend upon 
a coating of copper paint. 

Whenever a boat is hauled out to be scraped and 
painted it should be examined carefully for rot or 
worms and the various planks, the keel, stem, stern- 
post, centerboard, centerboard trunk and case and in 
fact, all the woodwork below water should be tested 
for teredos or rot by probing with the tip of a knife 
blade. If the wood is sound the blade will not pene- 
trate readily, whereas if the wood has been injured 
by worms or is rotten the blade will enter very easily. 
When this occurs a thorough investigation should be 
made to determine the extent of the damage. 

If the spot is small it may be dug out by a chisel 
or gouge and the cavity may be filled with white lead 
or marine glue and painted over, whereas if there is 
a large area damaged a new plank or a new piece of 
timber must be fitted. In any case every hole, crack 
or crevice should be carefully plugged with white lead 
or marine glue before painting, for if this is not done 



THE CARE OF BOATS 91 

rot and worms will be almost certain to find the un- 
protected spots and will commence to destroy the 
wood. 

If there is a stream or body of fresh water near at 
hand a great deal of time and trouble may be avoided 
by running your boat into fresh water and allowing 
her to remain there for a day or two at a time. 
Marine growths and teredos cannot live in fresh water 
and any which have become attached to the boat will 
die and drop off when the craft is left for a short time 
in fresh water. To be efficacious the water must be 
really fresh and not brackish, for many marine plants 
and animals will live and thrive in brackish water. 

When boats are first placed in the water they are 
dry and often leak badly, but as the wood swells with 
the action of the water the seams tighten up and often 
a boat which leaks like a sieve when first launched 
will be perfectly tight after a few days' immersion. 
For this reason you should not be discouraged if your 
boat leaks when you first put her in the water, but if 
she still leaks after two or three days you may be 
sure there is something wrong which should be at- 
tended to at once. By bailing out the water and wip- 
ing the inside dry with a sponge you can usually find 
the leak, and if it is small it may be stopped by pushing 
caulking cotton into the seam or crack with a thin 
knife blade or a putty knife. Very often a small leak 
may be caused by a nail hole and this may be stopped 
completely by driving in a tiny wooden plug. 

If there is difficulty in locating the leak from in- 
side the boat, if the leak is large or if there are several, 



92 THE BOOK OF THE SAILBOAT 

the boat should be hauled out on shore and partly filled 
with water. Then, by watching the outside of the 
hull, you can easily find where the water runs out. 
The spots should then be marked, the water drawn 
out by means of the boat plug (a wooden plug driven 
into a hole through the planks near the keel), and the 
seams where the leaks occur should be cleaned free of 
all putty, paint and old caulking and should be re- 
caulked. 

It is an easy matter to caulk a seam if a little care 
is used, the only implements and tools required being 
a small caulking iron, some caulking cotton and a 
hammer. Unravel a strand of the cotton, roll it be- 
tween your palms until it forms a strand a trifle larger 
than the width of the crack to be caulked and then 
press the end into the seam with a corner of the caulk- 
ing iron or a knife blade. Catch the strand of cotton 
lightly into the seam in this way all along the seam 
and then with the caulking iron and hammer drive the 
cotton well into the opening. It is impossible to de- 
scribe just how to use the iron, but it is a knack soon 
acquired and is accomplished by a sort of rocking mo- 
tion with the iron as the tool is struck lightly with 
the hammer. 

Drive the cotton well below the surface of the wood 
but don't try to force in too much and don't drive it 
in so hard that it spreads or starts the plank. When 
the seams are well filled with cotton press white lead 
or marine glue over the caulking and paint thoroughly. 
Never use putty on a boat, especially below the water- 
line, for it will crumble and fall out very soon and 



THE CARE OF BOATS 



93 



is no better than nothing at all. Use pure, thick white 
lead and linseed oil or the best marine glue. The 
white lead may be pressed in with a putty knife but 






Caulking Tools 

I — Caulking mallet. 2, 3, 4, 5 — Caulking irons. 6 — Caulking 
hammer. 

marine glue must be run in by means of a hot iron; 
full directions accompany the glue when purchased. 

Before launching your boat in the spring all the 
seams should be cleaned free of old paint and lead, and 
if any of the old caulking is loose or hanging out it 
should be removed and replaced with new and all 
seams, rough spots and nail head holes should then 
be filled with white lead or marine glue before paint- 
ing. 

Don't drive the caulking too tightly into the seams 
when the boat is dry and don't fill the seams flush 
with the glue or lead. Leave a little hollow along 
every seam as otherwise, when the boat swells in the 
water, the caulking and filling will be forced out and 
will either flake off or will present rough, irregular 
surfaces to the water and will thus take a great deal 
from the speed of the boat. 

It is a good plan to pour a quantity of water into 



94 THE BOOK OF THE SAILBOAT 

the boat a few days before launching as this will swell 
the planks and if any leaks exist you can find them 
before placing the boat overboard. 

Before painting any part of the boat, all the old, 
loose, dry or rough paint should be scraped and sand- 
papered smooth and if it is in very bad shape it should 
be burned off by a torch, or removed by some good 
paint- and varnish-remover until the smooth surface 
of the wood is exposed. 

Use only the very best paint and varnish for the 
boat, for cheap, poor paints and varnishes are worse 
than nothing on a boat, and the very best is the cheap- 
est in the end. Use very little turpentine and still 
less dryer in the paint, for while paint mixed with 
oil alone may dry slowly, it will last far longer than 
paint with a great deal of turpentine or dryer. Haste 
makes waste in everything connected with a boat. 

Aside from the care of the hull there are the masts, 
sails and rigging to be looked after. The masts and 
spars should be scraped and sandpapered, varnished 
with two coats of the best spar-varnish and allowed to 
dry thoroughly. 

Standing rigging should be overhauled. Any 
frayed or worn parts should be renewed, the metal 
parts should be cleaned free of rust or corrosion and 
painted and new running rigging should be , rove 
through the blocks if the old ropes are frayed, rotten, 
worn or weak. The blocks should all be looked over ; 
broken ones should be replaced and sheaves should be 
oiled and turned until they move easily on their bear- 
ings. 



THE CARE OF BOATS 95 

The sails should be spread out; all torn or frayed 
spots mended and if reef points, earrings or other 
ropes on, the sails are ravelled, frayed or worn, they 
should be replaced. 

If the sails are mildewed, dirty or discolored, they 
should be scrubbed with good soap and water and 
bleached in the sun. Finally all stays and other rig- 
ging should be tightened up. 

The boat's equipment should also be overhauled and 
put in first-class shape. A good time to attend to 
this is while the paint and varnish are drying. 

Every boat, no matter how small, should always 
have an anchor on board with enough anchor line to 
allow you to anchor in fairly deep water — usually 
from fifty to one hundred feet of line according to the 
size of the boat and the depth of the waters where you 
sail. If the boat is small and a long anchor line is in 
the way the anchor may be attached to a compara- 
tively short line and another line may be coiled and 
tied neatly and stored away where it can readily be 
reached if needed. 

There are many kinds of anchors, but the common- 
est form is the ordinary two-fluke pattern with a slid- 
ing "stock." When not in use the cross-piece, or 
stock, is folded along the shank and thus occupies little 
space and when it is to be used the stock is held in 
position at right angles to the shank by a metal key. 
It is a good plan to seize the stock in position with a 
bit of line as well as by means of the key for the 
latter often works loose and allows the anchor to drag. 
There are also several good designs of folding anchors 



96 



THE BOOK OF THE SAILBOAT 



and for very small boats grapnels may be used if 
desired. 

There is no use in carrying an anchor unless it is 
large enough to hold the boat in a reasonable wind and 
sea and for small boats the anchors should weigh at 
least two pounds for every foot of the boat's water 
line length. Every boat over twenty-five feet in 




Anchors 
i — Common anchor. 2 — Grapnel. 3 — Drogue or sea-anchor. 4. — 
Keg mooring buoy. 5 — Iron mooring buoy. 6 — Spar mooring 
buoy. 7 — Mushroom anchor. 

length should have at least two anchors, and one of 
these should be at least one-and-one-half times as 
heavy as the other. In addition to these real anchors 
there should be a sea-anchor or drogue in the boat if 
you ever expect to sail in any but the smoothest waters 
and lightest winds. 

A drogue or sea-anchor consists of an iron ring or 
a strong wooden hoop from one to two feet in 
diameter which is often hinged or jointed so it may 
be folded up, and to this a conical canvas bag is sewn. 



THE CARE OF BOATS 97 

If the drogue is to be used on a fairly large boat it 
should be strengthened by ropes, as shown in the illus- 
tration, and in any case the ring or hoop should be 
provided with a four-rope "bridle" as illustrated (A). 
To the small end a light line (B) should be fastened 
to "trip" the drogue when you wish to draw it in, and 
a cork float (C) is attached at the end of a line three 
or four feet in length (D) to prevent the sea-anchor 
from sinking or "diving." Some people prefer a 
drogue with the lower or smaller end left open, but 
the form shown will serve for all-around purposes as 
well as any. 

The drogue is used when "riding-out" a gale or 
"lying-to" in a storm or heavy sea and its purpose is 
to hold the boat's bow to the wind and waves and also 
to prevent the boat from drifting too rapidly to lee- 
ward. It should be attached to a stout line twenty- 
five to forty feet in length and passed over the bows 
and if there is no sea-anchor at hand a bucket, a couple 
of oars lashed crosswise, thwarts, spare sails, cushions, 
or, in fact, anything which will float and will offer a 
considerable resistance to the water, may be used in 
place of a drogue. 

Not only will a drogue hold a boat's head on to 
wind and sea but it will also form a "smooth" for the 
boat and will often prevent the waves from breaking 
over the bow. 

When riding to a drogue a close-reefed sail, or the 
upper part of the sail may be set to keep the boat 
steady if necessary, but most boats will ride very well 
to a drogue without any sail whatever. 



98 THE BOOK OF THE SAILBOAT 

Be sure that your boat has oars, oarlocks, a boat- 
hook, a compass and a lantern on board, for these 
simple things may save your life and they will come 
in useful scores of times. If you go on long cruises 
or sail any distance from shore you should also have 
a keg of fresh water in the boat at all times, for one 
never knows when an accident may happen and the 
boat may be kept out to sea for many hours at a time 
and if such an event does occur you will give heart- 
felt thanks for your foresight in providing drinking- 
water. 

Finally there is the ballast. If the boat carries in- 
side ballast it may be in the form of iron or lead bars, 
cobble stones or sandbags and these should be looked 
over, cleaned and put in good shape. If the sand- 
bags leak, mend them with strong thread and give 
them a good coat of paint; if stones are used wash 
them in fresh water and let them dry before placing 
in the boat, and if iron bars are used, chip off the 
rust and give them a coat of asphaltum varnish, or 
some good metal paint. 

When pulling up the boat for the winter or placing 
her "out of commission" always drain all the water 
out of the hull. All weeds, shells and marine growths 
should be removed from the bottom and the planks 
should be scrubbed off and the keel blocked up so 
that it rests on a firm support at several points, as other- 
wise it may bend or buckle from the boat's weight. 

The inside ballast should be taken out and placed 
aside; the running rigging should be taken down, 
coiled and hung in a safe dry spot; all the equipment 



THE CARE OF BOATS 99 

should be taken from the boat and stored away and 
the sails should be soaked in fresh water, dried thor- 
oughly, rolled up and stored in a dry loft or similar 
place. 

A little care and trouble taken in such matters will 
save a vast amount of time, trouble and expense when 
ready to put the boat in the water, for dampness, dirt 
and rust will play havoc with the woodwork, ropes, 
sails and other parts of the boat if left alone over win- 
ter, while marine growths and old paint are far easier 
to remove from the bottom when wet and fresh than 
after they have dried and hardened during the months 
in which the boat is hauled out. 

If you use a mooring this should be taken up in the 
fall and stored over winter, for ice will often carry 
away a mooring buoy and chain which will resist the 
most severe storms. If the stone, anchor or other 
object used as a mooring is too heavy to be taken up 
the mooring buoy should be taken from the chain and 
a cheap wooden spar or pole should be substituted. 
This will resist the action of ice and winter storms 
better than the keg or can buoy, and if it is lost it 
doesn't amount to much and the chain can usually be 
picked up again by a grapnel. 

In order that you may be able to locate your moor- 
ing, if the buoy is sunk or carried away, you should 
make a note of cross bearings (see Chapter VII) so 
that you will know the exact spot where the mooring 
is located. 

There are many forms of moorings for small boats, 
among them large stones, heavy pieces of iron or 



100 THE BOOK OF THE SAILBOAT 

metal, such as old furnace-pots, old car-wheels, old 
railroad-rails and discarded machinery, while large 
anchors, and especially "mushroom" anchors, are 
widely used. 

It doesn't make the least difference what is used 
for a mooring- as long as it is heavy enough to hold 
the boat securely, but it must be borne in mind that 
an object under water weighs far less than when out 
of water and hence you should always use an object 
which you are sure is large and heavy enough to hold 
your boat in any wind or weather. A mooring should 
weigh at least three times as much as an anchor and 
six or eight times as much is none too heavy. 

From the mooring a heavy iron chain should lead to 
a buoy and the chain should be long enough to allow 
for the rise and fall of tide and yet have some slack at 
all times. 

Galvanized chain should be used and the buoy at 
its upper end should be large and buoyant enough to 
support the entire weight of the chain. 

There are metal buoys, made for the purpose; a 
strong keg, such as a beer keg, makes a good buoy ; a 
spar buoy or a cork float may be used. If a keg is used 
it should be provided with brass or galvanized hoops 
and should be kept well painted and spars, metal buoys 
or cork floats should also be taken up, dried and 
painted at frequent intervals to prevent them from 
becoming overgrown with marine plants, waterlogged 
or destroyed by teredos. 

The buoy is intended to support the chain and to 
make the location of the mooring plain. You are not 



THE CARE OF BOATS 101 

supposed to make your boat fast to it. For fastening 
the boat a ring should be provided on the chain below 
the buoy and the buoy left floating or it may be 
placed on the deck or inside the boat when the moor- 
ing is in use. Have your mooring buoy painted in 
bright colors so as to be easily visible and see that it is 
always kept in such good shape that it floats high 
and plain above the water. It's a very easy matter to 
miss a buoy in a fog, at night, or even with a sea 
running, and the higher it floats and the more brilliant 
the colors, the more readily you can "pick it up." 

When you come to the mooring you may catch the 
buoy by hand or by a boat-hook. To make this easier 
a large loop of rope or a ring should be provided on 
the buoy and the buoy left floating or it may be 
and you use a boat-hook, be very careful not to punch 
a hole in the buoy as you reach for it with the hook. 

While getting your boat ready for the water, while 
sailing her, and, in fact, whenever you are handling 
or working about boats, you will find it necessary to 
tie many knots. 

Everyone can tie some sort of a knot, but compara- 
tively few can tie really good knots and as they are 
very important and useful, you should learn how to 
tie all the common, and some of the fancy, knots and 
should know how to splice. There is a good portion 
of the year when you cannot use your boat and during 
this season you can employ a great deal of your time 
to good advantage in studying the next chapter and 
following the directions for making knots, ties and 
splices. 



CHAPTER VII 

MARLINSPIKE SEAMANSHIP 

To sailors the ability to tie knots, make splices and 
do other ropework is known as marlinspike seaman- 
ship. The name "marlinspike" refers to a metal in- 
strument used in making knots and splices and this 
tool, or a somewhat similar but smaller implement 
known as a fid, is the only article except the ropes 
which is required in making any knot, tie or splice. 

There is a vast difference between tying a knot and 
tying a good knot, and while the one is an abomina- 
tion, the other is a thing to admire. To be a good knot 
a knot must combine a number of important points. It 
must be of such a character that it can be quickly and 
easily tied; it must hold securely without danger of 
slipping or loosening ; it must be free from the danger 
of "jamming"; it must be easy to untie or cast off, 
and it must be perfectly adapted to the particular pur- 
pose for which it is used. 

The advent of wire rigging and steamships marked 
the decline of marlinspike seamanship and today a 

102 



MARLINSPIKE SEAMANSHIP 103 

great many so-called sailors are woefully ignorant of 
any but the simplest knots and ropework. On the old 
square-riggers and in the days when sailing vessels 
were supreme upon the seas, the sailors prided them- 
selves upon their knowledge of knots and splices. To- 
day one may now and then find an old deep-water tar 
who can tie every knot and make every splice ever 
used aboard ship, but each year these men are becom- 
ing fewer and marlinspike seamanship, unless kept 
alive by those who sail boats for pleasure, will soon 
be a thing of the past. 

Before commencing to tie knots or to make splices 
one should learn about the various kinds of rope and 
the names of the rope's parts. 

Ordinary rope is known as three-stranded and is 
made of three pieces, or strands, twisted together. 
These run from left to right in a spiral and each of 
these several strands is made up of smaller pieces 
known as yarns, which are twisted together from right 
to left or left-handed. Other ropes are made of four 
strands, while bolt-rope has a central strand around 
which the other strands are laid or twisted. Some 
ropes are laid up lefv-handed with each strand com- 
posed of yarns twisted right-handed, but when made 
in this way the rope becomes a cable or a cable-laid 
rope. 

The ropes ordinarily used are the three-stranded, 
right-hand kinds and they may be made of cotton, 
jute, Manilla or hemp, the Manilla being the best and 
most widely used. 

Small ropes are usually termed lines by sailors, and 



104 THE BOOK OF THE SAILBOAT 

one never hears a seaman speak of "string." Instead 
he says "twine," "line," "yarn," or "marline." Twine 
is small right-handed line. Spun-yarn, or yarn, is 
loosely laid, left-handed hemp, tarred and rubbed 
down. Marline is line made of two finely dressed 
hemp yarns laid left-handed and usually tarred. 

Whenever a rope is used for tying a knot or making 
a splice certain terms are employed to designate the 
various parts and as these names are used in the direc- 
tions for making knots you should become familiar 
with them. 

The principal portion or longest part of the rope is 
called the standing part; the portion bent or curved 
is the bight, and the shorter portion used in making 
the knot or splice is the end. Fig. i. 

There are various types of knots, some employed 
for everyday useful purposes and some for purely 
ornamental uses. As the former are the easiest to 
make and are most important, it is a wise plan to learn 
how to tie them before attempting to master the more 
difficult ornamental knots. 

Before commencing to work with a rope the loose 
strands at the ends should be whipped to prevent the 
rope from unraveling. To whip the rope take a piece 
of soft, strong twine, lay it on the rope an inch or two 
from the end, pass the twine several times around the 
rope, keeping the ends of the twine under the first 
few turns to hold it in position, and then make a large 
loop with the free end of the twine. Bring this back 
to the rope, continue winding it for a few turns around 
the rope and the end of the twine and finally finish 



FIG 1 * " B> "Ji "^SSSSSSS 
FIG. 2, 




FIG 3., FIG.4. 




FIG. 17. 



FIG.22 



Useful Knots and Splices 



106 THE BOOK OF THE SAILBOAT 

by drawing the loop snug by pulling on the free end 
as shown in Fig. 2. This is the true sailor fashion 
of whipping a rope's end, but for mere temporary 
purposes when practising ropework, twine wrapped 
a few times around the rope and tied will be sufficient 

Cuckold's necks are loops or rings of rope such as 
are illustrated in Fig. 3. They are very easily made 
by bringing the end of a rope around in a circular 
bight and then seizing the bight to the standing part 
by means of twine or yarn. As soon as the two parts 
are thus bound together or seized the cuckold's neck 
becomes a clinch which is often very useful about a 
boat, while the loop or cuckold's neck itself is the 
foundation of many useful knots. 

Of all true knots perhaps the simplest is the over- 
hand knot (Fig. 4). To make this knot merely pass 
the end of the rope over the standing part and through 
the bight or cuckold's neck thus formed (Fig. 4 A). 
When drawn tight the knot appears as in Fig. 4 B and 
is often used in making splices, grommets and fancy 
knots. 

Another useful and very simple knot is the figure 
eight which is shown commenced in Fig. 5 A and 
completed in Fig. 5 B, but the most useful and im- 
portant of all is the square knot or reef knot shown in 
Fig. 6. This is the knot used to tie reef points, to 
furl sails, to fasten two lines together and for many 
other purposes, and it is doubtless the best all-around 
knot known. It has the advantages of being easy 
to tie and untie, of holding fast under tremendous 
strain and of never becoming jammed. 



MARLINSPIEE SEAMANSHIP 107 

To tie a reef knot take one end of the rope in each 
hand, pass the left over and under the right and then 
pass the right over and under the left. If you will 
always remember this formula, left over, right over, 
you will never make a mistake and tie a granny (Fig. 
7). To make a granny knot stamps you as a land- 
lubber, for the granny is a useless, troublesome knot 
which can never be depended upon and which is unfit 
for any purpose. It will not hold a strain, it is liable 
to slip and it soon becomes jammed and hard to untie. 

If when tying a reef knot, the bight of one end is 
used instead of the end itself, a slippery reefer is made 
and this is far better for tying reef points than the 
true square knot as it may be cast off by merely pull- 
ing on the free end of the loop (Fig. 8). 

When fastening a boat or any other object where it 
may be necessary to cast off quickly, a lark's head is 
a good fastening to use (Fig. 9). To make this 
knot pass the bight of a rope through the ring or 
other object to which you are making fast and then 
slip a piece of wood, a marlinspike, or some other 
object through the sides of the bight and under or 
behind the standing part as shown in Fig. 9 at A. 
The end of the rope is then laid over and under the 
standing part and back over itself. This knot may be 
instantly unfastened by merely pulling out the bit of 
wood or toggle (A). 

Another knot, which is easy to cast off and is very 
useful in many places, is the slippery-hitch (Fig. 10). 
To make this knot run the end of the rope through the 
ring or eye, then back over the standing part and pull 



108 THE BOOK OF THE SAILBOAT 

the loop or bight back through the cuckold's neck thus 
formed. To untie merely pull on the free end. 

A better knot for fastening a boat or other object 
quickly and securely is that shown in Fig. n. This 
is made of two half-hitches and is widely used by 
sailors and is the easiest of all reliable and secure knots 
to tie. It is made by passing the end of a rope around 
a post or other object, then carrying the end over and 
around the standing part between itself and the post 
and then under and around the standing part between 
its own loop and the one first made. It is easier to 
learn this knot by studying the diagram than by a de- 
scription, and as soon as you get the "hang" of it 
you can tie it in an instant in the darkest night. It 
will hold forever without working loose and even on 
a smooth stick or spar it will stand a great strain with- 
out slipping along. 

A better knot for fastening to such an object as a 
smooth stick, where there is a longitudinal strain or 
to another rope, is the clove hitch (Fig. 12). To 
make this, pass the end of the rope around the stick 
or other object, then over itself, then over and around 
the spar and pass the end under itself and between the 
rope and spar as shown in the diagram. 

If you have occasion to fasten a rope to a hook 
for hoisting anything you should use the blackwall 
hitch (Fig. 13), which is very secure and easily made. 
To make this hitch form a loop or cuckold's neck with 
the end of the rope underneath and then pass it over 
the hook so that the standing part bears against the 
end and jams it fast. 



MARLINSPIKE SEAMANSHIP 109 

Still another strong knot for attaching- a rope to a 
hook is shown in Fig. 14. This is called a catspaw 
and is made as follows : Lay the bight of the rope over 
the end and standing part ; then, with a bight in each 
hand take three twists away from you; then bring the 
two bights side by side and hook them over the hook 
as shown. 

For towing a spar, mast or a piece of timber, or for 
fastening to a log, the best knot to use is the timber 
hitch (Fig. 15). This is made by passing the end of 
the rope around the object, then around the standing 
part and then twisting it three times under and over 
its own part. If you wish to have this still more se- 
cure, a half-hitch may be taken with the line a foot or 
two farther along the spar (Fig. 15 A). 

It often happens that one needs to fasten two very 
heavy or stiff ropes or hawsers together and this may 
be impossible with any ordinary knots. In such cases 
there is nothing better than the carrick bend (Fig. 16). 
To make this bend, form a bight by laying the end 
of the hawser on top of and across the standing part. 
Then take the end of the other hawser and 
pass it through this bight, first down and then 
up over the cross and then down through the 
bight again, so that it comes out on the opposite side 
from the other end thus bringing one end on top and 
the other below as illustrated. If the lines are very 
heavy or stiff the ends may be seized to the standing 
parts by twine or marline. 

Heavy hawsers can seldom be handled like small 
ropes and there are several bends or knots which are 



110 THE BOOK OF THE SAILBOAT 

especially designed for these large ropes. Among 
them are the anchor bends shown in Fig. 16 A and the 
fisherman's bend (Fig. 16 B), both of which are so 
simple that an explanation is not necessary as they 
can readily be mastered by looking at the diagrams. 

But of all knots perhaps the most perfect is the bozv- 
line (Fig. 17). This is preeminently the sailor's knot 
and every person who uses or owns boats should learn 
to tie a bowline quickly and readily for it is the strong- 
est, most secure and best of all useful knots and can 
be used for a thousand and one different purposes. 

It is very simple and by following the various stages 
as illustrated you will have no difficulty in learning 
to tie it. In A the rope is shown with the bight or 
cuckold's neck formed with the end over the standing 
part. Pass A back through the bight, under, then 
over, then under again, as shown in B ; then over and 
down through the bight, as shown at C and D. Then 
draw tight as at E. 

While for most purposes knots serve every purpose 
for fastening two ropes together or for attaching a 
rope to some other object, yet a tied rope is never as 
strong as a whole rope and moreover where two ropes 
are thus fastened together, the knot will not pass 
through blocks, eyes or other openings which will 
admit the rope itself. For this reason it is often neces- 
sary to join two ropes so that there is scarcely any 
increase in the size of the ropes. This is accomplished 
by making what is known as a splice. 

A splice, if well made, is as strong as the rest of the 
rope ; it will run through a block or eye readily and 



MARLINSPIKE SEAMANSHIP 111 

moreover it is not difficult to make. There are vari- 
ous kinds of splices, known as short splices, eye splices, 
cut splices, long splices, etc., and everyone who has 
occasion to use ropes should be able to make any or 
all of these. 

The simplest splice, and the one you should learn 
first, is the short splice (Fig. 18). To make this un- 
twist or unlay the ends of the two ropes to be joined 
for a few inches and wrap a few turns of twine or 
yarn around them to prevent the strands from untwist- 
ing- any farther, as shown at A, A. The end of each 
strand should also be whipped or seized to prevent un- 
ravelling, but after you are adept at splicing you can 
omit these seizings as you will be able to splice just 
as well, but while learning you will find them quite 
necessary. 

You will also find it far easier to learn how to splice 
if you wax or grease the strands and this applies to 
ropes which are used when practising simple or fancy 
knots also. 

When you have the ropes ready, place them end to 
end, as shown in B, B, and with a marlinspike, a 
pointed stick, or some smooth, round, sharp tool open 
the strand I C and through this push the strand A of 
the other rope. Next open strand 2 and pass the next 
strand of the other rope through the opening and 
treat the third strand in the same way. Now open 
the strands of the second, or right-hand, rope below 
the seizings and push the strands of the first, or left- 
hand, rope through the apertures. The two ropes 
will now appear as in D, D. Next untwist each 



112 THE BOOK OF THE SAILBOAT 

strand, cut off about one-half of the yarns, twist the 
strands tightly and seize with twine. Each of the 
reduced strands must now be poked under the whole 
strands of the opposite rope in the same manner as 
you passed the whole strands before cutting them 
down. After drawing each strand tight, pass them 
once more under the whole strands and finally trim 
them off close to the rope. 

If a really fine, neat splice is desired, you may trim 
off a few of the yarns in each strand every time they 
are passed under the others, thus gradually tapering the 
ends and in this way forming a splice which is scarcely 
distinguishable from the rest of the rope. 

An eye splice (Fig. 19), is made in the same man- 
ner as the short splice but instead of splicing the two 
ends of separate ropes together the end of the rope 
is unlaid and then bent around in a loop and the ends 
are spliced into the strands of the standing part as 
show in the illustration. 

A cut splice (Fig. 20), is made in a very similar 
manner but instead of bending the rope around in a 
bight two ropes are spliced together overlapping, or a 
short rope may be spliced into another rope at both 
its ends. 

Where a very strong splice the same diameter as the 
rope is required a long splice must be used (Fig. 21). 
This is the most difficult of all splices to make and 
it is even harder to describe than to make, but when 
well spliced it will pass through a block or eye as 
readily as a plain rope and the splice cannot be dis- 
tinguished from the rope itself. 



MARLINSPIKE SEAMANSHIP 113 

To make a long- splice unlay the strands of the 
ropes about four times as much as for a short splice, 
or from four to five feet, and unlay one strand in each 
rope for half as much again. Place the center strands 
together, as at A, so that the long strands appear as 
at B and C and the spiral groove, left where they 
were unlaid, will look like D, E. Take off the two 
middle strands F, G, and lay them into the grooves 
D, E, until they meet B, C, and be sure to keep them 
tightly twisted while doing this. Then take the 
strands H, J, cut off half the yarns in each, make an 
overhand knot in them and stick the ends in as in mak- 
ing a short splice. Do the same with strands B, C, 
and F, G, dividing, knotting and sticking in the ends. 
Finally stretch the rope, pound and roll it until smooth 
and trim off any loose bits and ends of yarn close to 
the rope. 

While making any splice or knot where the strands 
are unlaid and are again laid up, be sure to keep the 
strands tightly twisted by turning them from right to 
left. Then when they are laid in place they will hold 
their position snugly by their tendency to untwist. If 
you examine a rope carefully you will discover that 
the various strands are not merely twisted together, 
but that two of them are twisted and that the third is 
then laid into the groove between the other two. In 
laying up a rope after making a knot or splice this 
should be borne in mind. 

Sometimes a ring of rope is required and this can 
be quickly and easily obtained by making a grommet 
(Fig. 22). To make a grommet unlay and cut a long 



114 THE BOOK OF THE SAILBOAT 

strand from a common rope, bend it around in a circle 
of the desired size, lay one end over the other and 
with the long end follow the grooves or lay of the 
strand until it comes back to where it started, thus 
forming a ring of two strands. Continue laying the 
free end into the groove between the two strands until 
the ring is completed with three strands all around and 
then finish by dividing the yarns of the two ends where 
they meet, making overhand knots in them and then 
passing them underneath the nearest strands, as when 
making a splice, and finally trim off all loose, project- 
ing yarns. 

These grommets make very good quoits and they 
may also be used as handles to chests and boxes, rings 
for masts of small boats and for many other purposes. 

After the common useful knots and splices have 
been thoroughly mastered it is well to learn how to 
make a few ornamental knots and ropework. Many 
of these are really useful about a boat while others 
add greatly to the neat, yachty appearance of ropes, 
rigging, etc. 

At first sight most ornamental knots appear very 
complicated and difficult, but they are really no harder 
to tie than a bowline or a reef knot, once you know 
how. 

In tying fancy knots you will find cotton rope or very 
fine hemp better than Manilla, but after you are really 
skillful you will find no trouble in forming any knot 
in any old rope that is handy. 

The two most important of fancy knots and those 
which are the foundation of many others are the crown, 



MARLINSPIKE SEAMANSHIP 115 

(Figs. 23, 24) and the wall, (Figs. 25, 26). The 
Matthew Walker, (Fig. 32) and the Turk's head, 
(Fig. 33) are also very beautiful and useful knots 
and by the use of these four and their various com- 
binations an endless number of fancy knots may be de- 
vised. Many of these combinations of two or more 
knots have become so generally used that they have 
received specific names and are now recognized as reg- 
ular knots. Such are the wall and crown, double zvall 
and crown, etc. 

In addition to true ornamental knots there are vari- 
ous other forms of fancy ropework, such as worming, 
parcelling, serving, sennett work, thumming, etc., 
while four-stranded and crown-braids are used in mak- 
ing ornamental lanyards, hand lines, rope fenders, etc. 

The simplest of ornamental knots is the crown and 
it is well to commence with this. Unlay the strands 
of the rope for a few inches. Seize or whip the ends of 
the rope as when making a short splice. Now while 
holding the rope in your left hand, fold one strand 
over and away from you as in A, Fig. 23 ; then fold B 
over A and while holding these in place with your 
thumb and finger pass C over B and through the bight 
of A, as shown in the cut. Now pull the ends tight 
and work the bights up snugly and your knot will 
be the single crown, but as this is a poor knot to stay 
tied and is not very ornamental, it should be finished 
by tucking the free ends under and over the strands of 
the rope as shown in Fig. 24, meanwhile tapering them 
down as described in the directions for making an eye 
splice. 



MARLINSPIKE SEAMANSHIP 117 

This results in a very neat and ship shape finish for 
a rope's end and as it will never work loose like a 
seizing and can be tied in a very few moments, it can 
be recommended as the handiest and best of all meth- 
ods for finishing the ends of ropes to prevent un- 
ravelling. 

As simple as the crown and far more attractive, is 
the wall knot, Figs. 25, 26. In making this knot unlay 
and whip the rope as for the crown and make a bight 
in the strand C by bringing the end down and across 
the standing part. Then bring strand A over C and 
around the standing part, and finally bring B over A 
and up through the bight of C. Draw all the ends 
tight and snug and the single wall will be finished. As 
in the case with the crown knot, this is mainly of value 
as a basis for other knots, or for ending rope by tuck- 
ing in the ends as shown in Fig. 26. 

By "doubling" the wall or crown, the knots are made 
far more ornamental. This is done by following the 
lay of the single knot, or in other words, after the sin- 
gle wall or crown is made the strands are carried 
around side by side of themselves. To make a 
double wall knot make the single knot and then, before 
drawing it tight, bring the strand A up through its 
own bight beside the end of C. Then bring B up 
through its own bight beside A and carry C up through 
its own bight beside B. When drawn tight it will be 
very neat. The ends may be trimmed off or tucked 
through the strands of the standing part as preferred. 
(Fig. 26. )' 

A still more ornamental knot may be formed by 



118 THE BOOK OF THE SAILBOAT 

crowning a wall knot. This is done by first making a 
plain wall knot and then bringing A up over the top, 
laying B across A and bringing C over B and through 
the bight of A, or in other words, tying a crown knot 
on top of a wall knot, (Fig. 27). 

This is the foundation for one of the most beautiful 
of rope-end knots which is known as the double wall 
and crown or manrope knot. (Fig. 28.) To make 
this, tie the single wall, crown it and leave the strands 
slack. Then pass the ends under and up through the 
bights of the single wall knot and then push the ends 
alongside of the strands whch form the single crown 
knot, passing them through the bights in the crown and 
down through the walling. 

If you have learned the single wall and single crown, 
you will find this very simple, for it consists in merely 
following the lay of the strands of the single wall and 
crown. When well done and worked up tight and 
snug with the ends trimmed off closely it makes a 
highly ornamental knot, (Fig. 28), and if the ends are 
tucked into the standing part, as directed for tying 
the single crown, there should be no sign of a be- 
ginning or ending to this knot, the finished result ap- 
pearing like an ornamental knob of rope. 

This is a useful as well as an ornamental knot and 
is handy in many places on a boat. It is often used 
in finishing the ends of rope railings, the ends of man- 
ropes (hence its name) for the ends of yoke lines 
for steering small boats, to form stoppers or toggles to 
bucket-handles, slings, etc., and in fact, wherever a 
large ornamental end to a rope is required or where 



MARLINSPIKE SEAMANSHIP 119 

a knot is desired to prevent a rope from slipping- 
through any aperture. 

Its use for such purposes is shown in Figs. 29, 30 and 
31 which represent topsail halyard toggles, formed by 
turning an eye splice in a short length of rope with 
a double wall and crown at the end. Such toggles 
are useful for many purposes other than for topsail hal- 
yards. They may be used as stops for furling sails, for 
slings around gaffs or booms, for attaching blocks 
when hoisting and in many other places which will sug- 
gest themselves to the user of a small boat. 

Another very beautiful end knot, and the most 
difficult of all to make is the Matthew Walker or stop- 
per knot (Fig 32). To tie this knot pass one strand 
around the standing part and through its own bight, 
then pass B underneath and through the bight of A 
and through its own bight as well. Then pass C under- 
neath, around and through the bights of A, B and its 
own bight. The knot will not appear as at Fig. 32A,, 
but by carefully hauling the ends around and working 
the bights up tight — a little at a time, the knot will as- 
sume the shape shown in Fig. 32B. This is a splen- 
did knot for the ends of ropes to prevent them from 
slipping through holes, as it is hard, close and presents- 
an almost flat shoulder on its lower side. It is because* 
of its adaption to such purposes that the name "stopper 
knot" has been given to it. 

All of the preceding are end knots, but a knot of at 
very different sort, which is widely used for ornament- 
ing ropes, is the Turk's head (Fig. 33). Turk's heads 
are used in decorating lower standing rigging, for rings 



120 THE BOOK OF THE SAILBOAT 

or shoulders on shrouds or ropes, to secure other rig- 
ging in position, to ornament yoke lines, for forming 
sliding collars on knife lanyards and for collars around 
stanchions, spars, oars, etc., and when placed around 
a rope close beneath a manrope or Matthew Walker 
knot it gives a very beautiful and elaborate finish to a 
rope. 

Although so handsome and apparently intricate, the 
Turk's head is a very simple and easy knot to make 
and while you may have some difficulty in mastering 
it at the first a little practice and perseverance will en- 
able you to become proficient and you will be able to 
tie this beautiful knot at any time and in any position. 

To learn to make this knot obtain a smooth, round 
stick and some closely twisted, or braided, small line. 
Pass two turns with the line around the rod, as at A, 
Fig. 33, pass the upper bight down through the lower 
bight and reeve the upper end down through it, as at 
B, Fig. 33. Then pass the bight up again and pass the 
end over the lower bight and up between it and the up- 
per bight. Dip the upper bight again through the lower 
bight and pass the end over what is now the upper 
bight and between it and the lower one, as at C, Fig. 
33. Continue to work around in this manner to the 
right until the other end is met when the other part 
should be followed around until a plait of two or more 
lays is complete as shown in the cut. 

The various bights should then be drawn snugly un- 
til there is no slack and the completed knot fits tightly 
about the rod. A variation of this knot may be formed 
by making the first part as directed and then by slipping 




ROPEWORK 



122 THE BOOK OF THE SAILBOAT 

the knot to the end of the rod work one side tighter 
than the other until the plaits form a complete cap 
(Fig. 33D). This makes a fine finish for the ends of 
stanchions, poles, flagstaff s, etc., and it may be kept in 
position by a few tacks or small nails driven through 
the inner strands into the woodwork. 

Ropes that are to be used as handlines, stanchions, 
manropes, lifelines, shrouds or, in fact, for any pur- 
pose where appearances count, are usually wormed, 
served and parcelled. Worming consists of twisting a 
small line or filler into the grooves and making the rope 
smooth and ready for parcelling or serving. Parcelling 
is done by wrapping the wormed line with a narrow 
strip of canvas (Fig. 34B), and finally the whole is 
served by being wrapped tightly with marline or spun 
yarn (Fig. 34C). 

Although all this may be done by hand the serv- 
ing is usually accomplished by means of a tool known 
as a serving mallet (Fig. 34D). This instrument en- 
ables one to work much more evenly and tightly than 
is possible by hand serving, but whether a mallet is 
used or you depend upon hand serving, the rope to be 
treated must be stretched tightly between two up- 
rights or the result will never be satisfactory. Some- 
times a rope is served without either worming or par- 
celling and for ordinary purposes the parcelling is not 
necessary ; although the results obtained by performing 
all these operations are very much more satisfactory. 

A variation in serving is made by means of half- 
hitch work as shown in Fig. 35. This is very orna- 
mental when well done and is very simple and easy to 



MARLINSPIKE SEAMANSHIP 123 

accomplish. To make this covering, take a half-hitch 
with the small line about the rope, then another below 
it, draw snug, take another half-hitch and continue in 
this way until the rope or other object, is covered and 
the half-hitches form a spiral row of knots running 
around the covered object. Bottles, jugs, ropes, stanch- 
ions, fenders and many other articles may be covered 
with this half-hitch work and as you become expert 
you will be able to cover objects with several alter- 
nating rows of half-hitches. 

Four-strand braiding is also highly ornamental and is 
very simple. To do this (Fig. 36), merely cross the 
opposite strands of small lines as illustrated in A, B, 
Fig. 36B, first crossing A to the left of B, then cross- 
ing C and D above A and B and continue in this way 
until the braid is the desired length. 

Still more decorative is a crown braid, which is made 
by forming one crown knot over another. 

A wall braid may be made by forming a series of sin- 
gle wall knots in the same way and either the crown or 
wall braiding may be done with any number of strands 
or lines desired; the more strands used the finer and 
more ornamental will be the braid produced. 

Sometimes the monkey chain. Fig. 38, is used for 
ornamental work, but it is more useful as a means of 
shortening rope in such a manner that it may be quick- 
ly lengthened out for use. To make the monkey chain 
draw a loop of the rope through its own bight as at A, 
B, Fig. 38; draw another loop through this (C, Fig. 
38), another through this (D, Fig. 38), and continue 
in this way until the rope is shortened as much as 



124 THE BOOK OF THE SAILBOAT 

desired, when the end may then be passed through the 
last bight as shown at E, Fig. 38. If left in this way the 
chain will never come loose and yet the rope may be 
lengthened instantly by slipping out the end and pulling 
upon it whereupon the entire chain will ravel. 

Once having mastered these various knots and spli- 
ces you will find little difficulty in selecting and tying 
the best knot for any purpose which may arise, but no 
description of knots would be complete without a few 
hints on slinging barrels, casks or other objects. 

Three of the best and simplest slings are shown in 
Figs. 39, 40 and 41. The first, Fig. 39, shows a handy 
and useful sling for bags or bales and consists of a strap 
or length of rope with the two ends spliced together and 
slipnoosed around the object as shown. A large grom- 
met also makes a good sling of this type. Fig. 40 
shows how to sling a cask or barrel in an upright 
position when it contains water or other contents, 
while in Fig. 41, a sling for hoisting barrels, boxes 
or other articles is illustrated. In this case the rope 
may be used with an eye splice at one end as shown, 
or it may be merely tied with a bowline or other good 
knot. Sometimes a sling is used which has an eye 
splice at each end and if you have one or two slings 
readymade with finished ends, or with eye splices 
turned in them, you will find they are very useful 
and will save a lot of time and trouble, for they can 
be used for many purposes other than as slings. 



CHAPTER VIII 

SIMPLE NAVIGATION. 

Among the first things that the amateur sailor should 
learn are the rules of the road at sea, for there are just 
as strict and definite rules for boats traversing maritime 
highways as are in force for vehicles using highways on 
the land. 

But whereas traffic rules ashore vary in different 
countries, and even in the various states and cities, the 
rules of the road on the water are alike throughout 
all the world, and if you learn the rules in force in 
American waters, the knowledge will serve just as 
well in the waters of any other country. 

The first and principal rule is to turn to 
the right zvhen meeting another boat. At times this 
may be impossible and hence signals and rules have 
been arranged which provide for turning to the left 
when necessary, but sailing boats always have the right 
of way over steamers and power boats. It does not 
follow, because this is the case, however, that a man 
in a small sailboat should compel a larger vessel to give 

125 



126 THE BOOK OF THE SAILBOAT 

way to him and endanger the other ship for it may 
be impossible for the larger craft to turn out, owing 
to the narrow channel or some similar reason, and 
hence you should know what the various lights and 
signals mean and should be prepared for any unusual 
condition which may arise. 

In order that sailors may know in which direction a 
vessel is proceeding at night, as well as the character 
of the vessel, all vessels carry what are known as side 
lights, the one on the right or starboard side being 
green, while that on the port or left side is red. If 
you remember that the port light is red like port wine, 
you will never become confused as to which color is 
port and which starboard. These lights are only used 
when vessels are sailing or under way and when at 
anchor or at moorings, a white light or riding-light 
is placed in the rigging. 

Steamers and power boats carry a white light near 
the stern and another white light forward. The rear 
white light is visible from all directions and is high 
up, while the forward white light is visible only from 
one side around a half-circle to the other side of the 
dow, while the side lights can only be seen from ahead 
or from either side. 

By these lights you can always determine the direc- 
tion in which a vessel is moving and can thus keep 
clear. If she is approaching bow-on, you will see both 
the side lights and you can be sure she is a power 
boat or steamer if you see the two white lights. If 
the two white lights are not in exact line, you will 
know that she is turning and the direction she is head- 



SIMPLE NAVIGATION 127 

ing is easily determined, for if the low bow light is to 
the right of the high stern light she is turning to your 
right, while if it appears at the left of the higher stern 
light she is heading to your left. If only one side light 
is seen you may be sure the vessel is moving at right 
angles, or at nearly right angles to your course, and 
if she is a power-propelled vessel you can easily tell 
the angle at which she is moving by the position of the 
white lights. If a steamer or power boat is ahead 
of you and moving in the same direction, you can see 
only the high white stern light and the instant she 
turns you will know it by the other lights becoming 
visible. 

Steamers and power boats also have signals which 
are given by the whistles to show which way they 
wish to proceed and the steamer which signals first 
dictates the direction. One blast means the vessel is 
turning to her starboard or right hand and two blasts 
signifies she is going to her left or port, and while such 
signals should be answered by other power or steam 
boats, sailing craft are not supposed to reply. Unless 
there is some unusual reason for not following the or- 
dinary rules of the road, a steamer or power boat will 
never signal to a sailboat and hence, if a steamer is ap- 
proaching or overtaking you, and whistles, you should 
look about and be sure she is not signalling some other 
steamer for all power and steam vessels are supposed 
to keep clear of sailing craft. Naturally they expect the 
sailing boats' helmsmen to know the rules of the road 
and, therefore, if you think their signals are intended 
for >ou and change your course the steamer may not 



128 THE BOOK OF THE SAILBOAT 

know why you are doing such an unexpected thing 
and a collision may result. If you adhere strictly to 
the rules of the road there is no reason why you should 
ever have an accident through your own fault, but if 
a power boat or steamer is approaching and does not 
show signs of giving way to your right of way you 
should blow a horn, halloo, shout or do something to 
attract attention and if necessary go about and get 
out of the way as soon as possible. 

During thick weather, in fogs, mists, snow and heavy 
rain, sailing vessels signal the direction in which they 
are moving by means of blasts on a foghorn. If they 
are on the starboard tack, that is, with the wind on 
the right or starboard side, one blast is blown at in- 
tervals of about a minute, if on the port tack, two 
blasts are blown at intervals, while if running before 
the wind three blasts are sounded. As -you can al- 
ways tell the direction of the wind by your own sails, 
you can easily determine the direction in which the 
other boats are headed by their signals and can thus 
avoid them. 

Always remember that a sailing vessel on the star- 3 
board tack has the right of way over a vessel on the- 
port tack, and that a vessel sailing close hauled or 
against the wind has the right of way over a vessel 
running free or on the wind regardless of their size, 
the direction in which they are moving or anything else. 

In order to make the primary rules of the road eas- 
ier to remember they have been made into verse and 
some of these simple verses, if memorized, will prove 
a great help. 




Rules of the Road and Buoys 
I — Meeting head-on, turn to starboard. 2 — Crossing, boat to star- 
board has right of way. 3 — Grossing, boat to starboard has right 
of way. 4 — Passing. 5 — Meeting, Green to green, hold course. 
6 — Meeting at angle, boat to starboard has right of way. 7 — 
Meeting at angle, boat to starboard has right of way. 8 — Boat 
on wind has right of way over boat sailing free. 9 — Boat on 
starboard tack has right of way. 10 — Red spar buoy, pass on 
starboard when entering harbor, on port when leaving harbors. 
11 — Black spar buoy. Leave on port when entering and on star- 
board when leaving harbors. 12 — Horizontal red and black 
buoy. Danger, keep clear. 13 — White and black striped buoy. 
Midchannel, keep close to it. 14 — Anchorage buoy. 15 — Nun 
buoy. 16 — Can buoy. 17 — Gas buoy. 18 — Bell buoy. 19 — 
Whistling buoy. 20 — Perch and ball. 21-22 — Beacons. 23 — 
Lighthouse. 24 — Lightship. 25 — Light beacon. 26 — Keg 
beacon. 27 — Channel mark. 28 — Range marks. 



130 THE BOOK OF THE SAILBOAT 

When meeting a vessel head-on you are supposed 
to turn to the right as the following verse shows : 

When two lights you see ahead 
Port your helm and show your red, 

or in other words, put your tiller to port and turn 
your boat to the right. 

If, on the other hand, a vessel is passing side-to 
you will see but one light and the following verse tells 
you that 

Green to green, or red to red 
Perfect safety — go ahead, 

or, in other words, if you see a green light on your 
green or starboard side or a red or port light on your 
red or port side, the other boat is parallel to you and 
your course should be kept. 

The greatest danger is in approaching another ves- 
sel at right angles, but in this case remember that the 
boat that has the other on the starboard or right- 
hand side must keep clear of the other, or, as the verse 
says: 

If to your starboard red appear 
'Tis your duty to keep clear, 
Act as judgment says is proper, 
Port or starboard, back or stop her. 
But when on your port is seen 
A vessel with a light of green 
There's not much for you to do 
The green light must keep clear of you 

But more important perhaps than all is the universal 
rule that all boats must keep a good lookout, and the 
following verse indicates this : 



SIMPLE NAVIGATION 131 

Both in safety and in doubt 
Always keep a good lookout 
Should there not be room to turn 
Shift your helm and pass astern. 

The last line is most important. Never under any 
circumstances attempt to cross the bows of another 
moving vessel. If you do and accident occurs it will 
be your own fault. A boat crossing another's bows 
always does so at her own risk. No matter how you 
are heading, no matter how much of a hurry you may 
be in, no matter how much trouble it may involve, if 
you are approaching another boat of any kind so that 
your course will cross hers, remember the last verse 
and shift your helm and pass astern. 

Another very important matter for all boat sailors 
to learn is the meaning of the various buoys, beacons, 
lights and other guide-boards of the sea. In small 
boats these are often of little importance for one may 
sail hither and thither without paying much attention 
to channels, but even in the smallest of sailboats there 
is a danger of running on reefs, rocks or shoals if one 
does not know what the guiding marks mean. 

In nearly every port, harbor, or other navigable body 
of water, except in the open ocean, there are buoys. To 
the landsman these appear as so many red, black or 
parti-colored sticks or metal cylinders, but to the sailor 
every one has a definite meaning and he knows that 
if he proceeds according to the route marked by the 
buoys he is perfectly safe. 

There are two general classes of buoys, known as 
channel buoys and danger buoys. The first are used 



132 THE BOOK OF THE SAILBOAT 

to mark lanes or channels for boats and are always 
black or red in color. All the red buoys are placed 
on one side of the channel and all the black buoys on 
the other side and every boat, when coming in from sea 
or moving towards the land should keep the red buoys 
on her right or starboard side and all the black buoys 
on her port or left hand. When going out of the har- 
bor or away from land, the red buoys are passed on the 
left and the black ones on the right. 

In other words, in leaving a harbor all the red buoys' 
should be passed on the red light side of your boat. 
Moreover, all the channel buoys are numbered, the 
black buoys bearing odd numbers, while the red ones 
are marked with even numbers, so that even if the 
colors are indistinct you can tell whether they are to be 
passed on right or left. But all channel buoys are 
not alike for there are spar buoys, can buoys and nun 
buoys, each of which serves a definite purpose and 
means a certain thing. 

Can buoys are cylindrical, like giant tin cans, and 
are painted black and marked with odd numbers, while 
nun buoys are tapered on the top, are painted red and 
bear even numbers. 

Spar buoys are merely huge, wooden poles painted 
red or black and bearing odd numbers on the black 
ones and even numbers on those which are red. 

In some places the can and nun buoys are used to 
mark the main ship channels and the spar buoys 
are used to show smaller or less important channels, 
while in other places only one kind is used or can 
or nun buoys may be placed among the spar buoys 



SIMPLE NAVIGATION 133 

to mark turning points or to aid mariners in locat- 
ing their position in the channel. All the buoys' num- 
bers commence at the one farthest out, which is 
number I, for buoys are of more importance to 
vessels entering a harbor than to those going out to 
sea. 

Danger buoys differ from channel buoys in color 
and are not numbered and they may be either of the 
spar, can or nun type. A buoy painted red and black 
in horizontal stripes running round the buoy indicates 
that there is some small, reef, rock or other obstruction 
close to it and that vessels must keep clear, but can pass 
on either side. A buoy painted with vertical stripes of 
black and white means exactly the opposite and shows 
that in order to avoid danger vessels must pass as 
closely to the buoy as possible and that there are shoals 
or obstructions on one or both sides of the buoy a short 
distance away. This striped buoy also is used to mark 
the center of a channel and is known as a midchannel 
buoy. 

Bell buoys and whistling buoys are also used to mark 
danger spots and turning-points in channels. Whist- 
ling buoys are metal buoys fitted with whistles which 
are blown by air forced up by the motion of the waves 
and are sometimes called grunters as the sound is 
more like a grunt than a whistle. Bell buoys are pro- 
vided with a bell which is rung by the swaying of the 
buoy. In many places they are located well out to sea 
to indicate the beginning of a channel; in other spots 
they are placed on reefs, rocks or other obstructions 
as warnings, and in still other places they serve to 



134 THE BOOK OF THE SAILBOAT 

show where a channel turns sharply or where another 
channel branches off. 

Still another sort of buoy is the gas buoy. These 
serve as miniature lighthouses or lightships and are 
furnished with lamps which burn compressed acety- 
lene or other gas. They are usually placed on out- 
lying reefs or rocks or in spots where it would not 
pay to keep a regular lightship. 

In many places, where ordinary buoys cannot be 
used, a large sphere is set up on the end of a pole 
and painted red or black, according to the side on 
which it should be passed. This is known to seamen 
as a perch and ball. Often a square, boxlike affair or 
a cone made of iron or wooden slats is used in the same 
manner. 

In still other localities the government does not 
think it worth while to establish regular buoys and lo- 
cal fishermen or others use channel marks in the form 
of kegs set on posts or rods in place of danger buoys 
and cedar trees fastened on tall posts to indicate the 
channels. 

In many parts of the country beacons axz used which 
are tripods or platforms of wood or iron on which lan- 
terns are suspended. Sometimes the beacons are built 
of stone or concrete. 

On navigable rivers and inland waters and in some 
places on the coasts range marks are used. These are 
square or diamond-shaped frames of boards painted 
white with a square or circle of black in the center 
and set on posts. They are placed so that when two 
come directly in line the boatman knows he is in the 



SIMPLE NAVIGATION 135 

center of the channel. At night lanterns are often hung 
upon them. 

Sometimes one sees a large spar buoy painted white 
and with a little black anchor painted upon it. This 
shows the anchorage for large vessels and indicates that 
vessels cannot anchor further than the buoy without 
obstructing a channel or endangering cables, submarine 
works or other things. 

Just as buoys tell the sailor which way to steer in 
harbors or when close to shore so lightships and light- 
houses show mariners how to sail along the coasts. 
Lightships are vessels carrying lights at their mast- 
heads and are anchored out at sea on shoals or off 
harbors to show where the channels begin. 

Lighthouses are usually built on shore close to the 
sea, but they are often built on stone, masonry or 
slender steel supports quite a distance from the land. 
Each lighthouse has a different light, many are 
painted in stripes or other distinctive patterns and 
lightships are numbered and named to enable sailors to 
identify them easily. 

Some lighthouses throw a steady red light, others a 
steady white light, others flashes of white, others 
flashes of red, others alternate flashes of red and white, 
and in many places they are arranged so that a white 
light is visible from vessels in the channels or in safe 
waters, while a red sector causes a red light to be 
thrown over the shallow or dangerous waters. More- 
over, the flashing lights have various intervals be- 
tween flashes and thus, by knowing the colors of the 
various lights and the duration of their flashes, a sailor 



(Th*Tim1<ihrT of T itfln.* i« t * :* - - i> far iwi -I.-- Micro of V. fiiwt ofcow G>* lard! of tie i *») • 




BtJOTB 
* ? Rsd Bttfy to b* Uft .in^ntering, tm ft uf & xlrJ J^rf 

-.v^j t /" J-- > y/i/._T ft> &r &■/! at entering, en fbrt h<md 



J 1 Q ^ /> A i* ^ S -^^& ^"i'-V Vl \ Blaek and Hed horwmtaZ *trtpes_Dangrr Bu4y 









'■ X .' '' 



• ■■■■ ■'■■■* 1 

'■■--» I 






;.iiei>'- .' '■. ■':'.■ : J 




i & *■ 






»*"* .PA* . . , (fit- ■ ^ 




Harbor Chart Showing Lights, Buoys, Channels, Soundings, 
Bearings, Bottom, Etc. 



SIMPLE NAVIGATION 137 

can determine just where he is by the lighthouses he 
sights. 

All of these safeguards of the sea would be of little 
value to mariners, however, if it were not for charts, 
for no man could remember all the various buoys, 
beacons, range marks, lightships and lighthouses of the 
coasts and the various harbors. 

To enable the seaman to know just what every one 
of these means, and to help him find his way in 
places where he has never been, charts are furnished 
by the government. These are maps which show 
all the buoys, lights, signals and other guides and 
also indicate the depth of the water, the kind of bot- 
tom, the points of the compass, the prominent land- 
marks, the rise and fall of tides and the outlines of 
the shores. 

With the aid of a chart a sailor can safely find his 
way into any harbor or along any coast, and even if it 
is some remote place where there are no lights or 
buoys, or if the weather is too thick to enable him to 
see the buoys or lights, the charts will tell him where 
he is by the character of the bottom and the depth of 
the water. 

It may seem queer to think of a sailor navigating a 
vessel by the bottom of the sea, but it is a method 
very widely used and of great importance. 

In nearly every place the bottom varies more or 
less and the waters shoal in a certain way and by find- 
ing the kind of bottom there is and the depth of the 
water the seaman identifies the locality he is in. Thus, 
if the bottom is white sand and the depth is five fath- 



138 THE BOOK OF THE SAILBOAT 

oms, he looks upon the chart and finds the spot where 
a similar depth and bottom is indicated. Perhaps there 
are several such spots and the sailor is not sure which 
one he is on. In that case, he looks in the direction 
he is sailing and finds that on the chart the water 
shoals very gradually and that blue mud exists just 
beyond the spot where he thinks he should be. If his 
next sounding shows blue mud and only a little less 
depth than before he knows he is right, whereas if it 
shows deeper water and gravel, or much shallower 
water and sand, he knows he is off his course and by 
comparing his soundings with the chart he can tell just 
where he is. 

To determine the depth of water, a sounding line is 
used with a heavy lead weight at the end and with the 
fathoms marked upon the line and every time the lead 
is dropped to the bottom a tiny sample of the bottom 
is brought up sticking to a little tallow which fills a 
recess in the end of the lead. 

Nowadays there are many improved forms of sound- 
ing lines and leads, some of which have very cleverly 
arranged appliances for bringing up samples of the 
bottom, but the old-fashioned line and lead is still 
widely used. 

Still other important items which are indicated on 
the chart are bearings or landfalls. Often some promi- 
nent cliff, hill, mountain or other object is visible long 
before the shores themselves or any lights can be seen, 
and by bringing certain such marks in line, or by ob- 
taining the direction which they bear to the ship and 
then referring to the charts, the sailor can tell just what 



SIMPLE NAVIGATION 139 

part of the shore he is approaching and how he should 
steer to enter a harbor or channel. 

But charts, bearings or landmarks would be almost 
useless without that most important of all mariners'' 
guides, the compass. 

Everyone who uses a boat should know how to use 
a compass and every boat, save the very smallest open 
boats, should invariably have a compass on board. 
Even if you never expect to sail far from shore you 
may some day be caught in a thick fog or blown off 
to sea for several miles and a compass may save your 
life and the lives of others. But unless you know how 
to use a compass this useful instrument will be of little 
aid. It may seem strange to speak of learning to 
use a compass for everyone knows that a compass 
points toward the north, but when an ordinary com- 
pass is used on a boat the conditions are very different 
from using a compass on land. In the first place it 
is not enough to know the cardinal points of north, 
south, east and west, for while such general directions, 
may serve on the land, a very slight variation of the 
course may result in running on a reef or in missing a 
harbor, when sailing. For this reason you should be- 
come thoroughly familiar with all the points of a com- 
pass and should be able to box the compass or repeat 
all the thirty-two points from north around the circle to 
north and back again without looking at the compass. 
Then you should learn the quarter points and should 
be able to tell at a glance whether the boat is head- 
ing north-one-quarter-east or is a quarter of a point 
off her course in any direction, for a quarter-point error 



140 THE BOOK OF THE SAILBOAT 

in sailing- may make a vast difference at the end of a 
few hours' run. 

There are two general types of compasses in use : one 
known as the pocket compass or movable-needle com- 
pass, the other as the mariner's compass or floating- 
card compass. The former is generally used on land 
and has a fixed card with the various points marked up- 
on it and a movable needle which points to the north, 
while the mariner's compass has a card with the points 
which revolves and there is a notch or lubber s mark on 
one side of the case which should be so placed that 






A 

Use of Compass in Boat 
A — Mariner's compass. B-C — Pocket compass. 

when facing north the north mark on the card is ex- 
actly in line with the lubber's mark. 

In a boat the floating-card or mariner's compass is 
almost a necessity, for with it the boat's bow may be 
headed in the direction or course desired, whereas with 
a pocket compass the dial remains stationary and the 
needle moves about and as a result some mental calcu- 
lation is necessary in order to steer a course correctly. 

This will be better understood by studying the ac- 
companying illustration. In this you will see that at A 
a boat with a mariner's compass is headed northeast, 
and that if the course is to be altered to any given 
point of the compass it is merely necessary to turn 



SIMPLE NAVIGATION 141 

until the desired mark is in line with the lubber's mark. 

In the diagram B, however, the boat is apparently 
headed north although the same course is being steered 
as in A. This is because the compass used is a fixed- 
card compass with a movable needle and the needle 
moves as the boat's course is changed, while the card 
remains stationary, and although the boat is really 
headed northeast the needle points to the northwest. 
In other words, when using such a compass it is nec- 
essary to read it backwards and if you wish to steer 
northeast swing the boat until the needle points north- 
west } and so on, for every direction. This, of course, 
is very confusing and it can be avoided only by shifting 
the position of the compass so as to bring the needle 
directly over "north" each time the boat's course is 
altered as shown at C. By doing this the boat's bow 
will correspond to the direction being steered, as indi- 
cated on the compass card, but it is often very incon- 
venient, if not impossible, to move a compass constant- 
ly while bobbing about in a sea or tacking, although 
on land it is no trouble to turn the compass until the 
needle and "north" are in line and then proceed in the 
desired direction. 

Moreover, a pivoted needle is often very erratic and 
swings wildly when in a boat and for these reasons a 
floating-dial compass should always be used. Many 
pocket compasses are made with moving dials, or cards, 
and these will serve very well for small boats, but they 
are not to be compared to the true boat compasses for 
steadiness, accuracy and convenience. 

Sometimes one may find oneself without a compass 



142 THE BOOK OF THE SAILBOAT 

and may wish to obtain a general idea of direction 
and in such a case it is of great value to know that an 
ordinary watch or clock may be made to serve as a 
compass. 

To use a watch as a compass, place it horizontally, 
with the hour hand pointing directly towards the sun, 
or until the shadow of the hour hand falls directly be- 
neath the hand itself. When this position is attained 
south will be exactly halfway between the point of the 
hour hand and the figure 1 2 ; counting from left to 
right, or southward, if before noon and from right to 
left if after noon. 

This will prove very accurate for our latitudes during 
most of the year and the method will be clearly under- 
stood by referring to the illustrations in which the 
watch is shown with the hour hand pointing towards 
the sun at six a. m. when the figure 9 indicates south, 
while in the afternoon, with the hour hand pointing 
at the sun at four o'clock, the figure 2 indicates south. 

This method of determining direction is only useful 
on sunny or bright days, however, and one often needs 
to know the points of the compass at night, when the 
watch would be useless. 

In any spot north of the equator the North Star, or 
Pole Star, serves as a guide, while south of the equa- 
tor the Southern Cross indicates the true south. But 
the Southern Cross becomes visible long before the 
equator is reached, in about twenty degrees north lati- 
tude, and hence there is a wide area in which both of 
these stellar guides serve the mariner. 

It is a very easy matter to locate the North Star by 






v* ■ , 



k *K 



^ 



Jfr 



tforttSt0.tr> 



\ Dibber \ .'' 

5 

V 

Compasses 

I — Pocket compass. 2 — Mariner's compass. 3 — Points of compass. 
4 — How to use a watch as a compass. 5 — How to find the North 
Star. 



144 THE BOOK OF THE SAILBOAT 

finding the constellation known as the Great Dipper or 
the -Great Bear. Then by following in a straight line 
from the two outer stars of the Dipper, the upper one 
of which would form the lip of the Dipper, or the 
breast of the Bear, the North Star will be the first bright 
star in range of these two stars in the constellation and 
which are known as the Pointers. 

As the Great Dipper revolves around the North Star 
the latter may be either above or below the Dipper, 
but by carrying your imaginary line through the point- 
ers, from the foot or bottom of the constellation and 
beyond the top, the star may always be located if the 
night is clear and even if the Pole Star is not visible the 
Dipper itself will serve as a guide to enable you to 
steer a .fairly straight course. 

Captains of large vessels, sailing out of sight of land, 
determine their positions and steer their course by tak- 
ing observations by means of instruments called sex- 
tants and by chronometers. 

The chronometer is merely an extremely accurate 
clock which is set by standard time with Greenwich, and 
by comparing the actual time with this at noon, the 
mariner can work out the distance east or west of 
Greenwich, or in other words, obtain his longitude. 

By means of the sextant he determines the exact 
moment at which the sun crosses the meridian, or the 
exact noon hour at his locality and he also learns the 
angle or declination of the sun above the horizon. By 
means of tables he is thus enabled to work out his lati- 
tude, or his distance north or south of the equator, and 
then by marking the spot on his chart where the long- 



SIMPLE NAVIGATION 145 

itnde and latitude cross, he indicates the exact position 
of his ship. 

It is an easy matter to learn to "shoot the sun" and 
to compute latitude and longitude. Every amateur 
sailor will do well to acquire this knowledge, even if it 
never becomes necessary to use it. 

For all ordinary purposes, however, dead reckoning 
will serve and many sailors, and not a few captains 
of large vessels find dead reckoning sufficiently accurate 
for their needs if near land or only sailing for compar- 
atively short distances out at sea. 

Dead reckoning consists of computing a vessel's posi- 
tion by the distance sailed from one time to another; 
the drift or leeway made and the directions in which 
the boat has sailed. 

To find the distance sailed it is necessary to multi- 
ply the number of hours by the speed per hour. To 
determine this an instrument called a log is used. In 
former days the log was in reality a log, and consisted 
of a drag of wood attached to a marked line on a reel. 
The log was thrown over the vessel's stern and as the 
line ran out it was timed by a sandglass and the number 
of knots on the line which ran out while the sand fell 
through the glass gave the speed of the ship. Today 
instruments known as patent logs are used which are 
like small propellers attached to a line connected with 
a clocklike arrangement, and as the log whirls around 
by being dragged through the water the hands on the 
dials indicate the speed of the vessel. 

But while the log has been changed to a metal whirler 
and the line and sandglass have given place to an accu- 



146 THE BOOK OF THE SAILBOAT 

rate and complicated mechanism of wheels and cogs, 
yet the name log is still retained and sailors always 
speak of knots instead of miles. 

By marking off the number of knots sailed in the 
proper direction the sailor might easily tell where he 
was, provided there were no currents or tides and the 
vessel moved at a uniform speed and made no leeway. 
As a matter of fact the ocean is full of currents, 
streams and tides and moreover a vessel, when sailing, 
or steaming for that matter, is carried to one side or 
the other and forwards and backwards by these as well 
as by the wind. 

Besides a sailing vessel moves more slowly or faster 
according to the strength of the wind and is often 
obliged to tack or to alter its course to suit the winds. 

All of these matters must be considered in working 
out a position by dead reckoning and the course of a 
sailing vessel when thus pricked out on a chart often 
looks like the track made by a drunken man, as it zig- 
zags hither and thither, swings about, and varies 
widely from one side or the other of its true course. 

In order to come anywhere near accuracy by means 
of dead reckoning a mariner must be thoroughly 
familiar with the tides and currents through which he 
is sailing. He must be able to judge the strength of 
the wind; he must know just what his vessel will do 
under varying conditions; he must be able to guess 
very closely the leeway she makes, and he must bear in 
mind all the changes of course, all the tacks and all 
the shifting of sails which have been made. Only by 
such knowledge and by long practice can a sailor de- 



SIMPLE NAVIGATION 147 

termine where he is by dead reckoning and even then 
he can only locate his position approximately. It 
seems remarkable that any man can come anywhere 
near the truth by such means but many sea captains 
have become so expert that they can figure out their 
position by dead reckoning and come within a very 
few miles of the right result every time. 

Very few amateur sailors will ever need to go into 
the details of dead reckoning, but it is often conveni- 
ent to be able to determine roughly where you are and 
you should strive to become so accustomed to your 
boat's speed under various conditions that you can 
guess very closely how far and how fast she has 
sailed. You should also study the charts of your 
vicinity and learn all about the tides and currents and 
should be able to judge of the leeway you are making, 
as well as to form an accurate idea of the weight of 
the wind or the speed at which it is blowing All these 
things are a part of knowing how to sail and handling 
a boat and they will come in mighty handy sooner or 
later. 

Many a race has been won by a man or boy know- 
ing the currents and tides and taking advantage of 
them. If you are out in a fog or in darkness your 
knowledge of winds, currents and other conditions will 
enable you to steer a true course and reach port, where- 
as, if ignorant of these simple matters, you might be 
compelled to drift about for hours until you could see 
your surroundings. 

Until you have tried you can have no idea of how 
much you can learn about such matters or what a 



148 THE BOOK OF THE SAILBOAT 

keen sense of location . and direction you can develop. 
The fishermen on the coast of Maine and other parts 
of New England know the currents, winds and tides 
of their waters so well that thick fogs or the dark- 
est nights have no terrors for them. I have seen 
a Maine fisherman sail his schooner straight for the 
rocky, reef-fringed coast through the thickest fog and 
drive into a narrow harbor entrance as surely as if he 
was following a well marked lane of buoys. Yet 
nothing could be seen and the roar of surf was deaf- 
ening and to make a mistake of a hundred feet in his 
course meant certain death and the loss of the vessel. 

These men don't know how they know where they 
are or how they are able to find their way blindly on 
these dangerous coasts when nothing can be seen. 
They will tell you it's "by the lay of the land," al- 
though the land cannot be seen, or they may say they 
"smell where they are," but as a matter of fact it is 
owing to their intimate knowledge of conditions and 
surroundings which has become such a part of their 
daily life that they are perfectly unconscious of it. 

Of course the amateur sailor can scarcely hope to 
become as expert as these old shellbacks who have 
spent their lives knocking about in boats, but you can 
readily learn the bearings of certain places, the loca- 
tion of certain tide-rips and the direction and flow of 
certain currents in the waters where you sail and these 
will all help to guide you when sailing in darkness or 
in fog. 

Fog is perhaps the greatest danger that menaces 
sailors along the coasts, for a thick fog not only hides 



SIMPLE NAVIGATION 149 

all objects and surroundings, but when something is 
seen it is often so distorted, so spectral or so unusual 
in appearance that it is hard to recognize the most 
familiar landmarks. Moreover it is next to impossible 
to judge of distance in a fog and an object, seen dimly- 
through the mist and apparently far away, may be 
close at hand or again something which looms seem- 
ingly near may really be far away. Sound also is dis- 
torted by fogs and even old hands are often woefully 
deceived as to the direction and distance of sounds 
heard through fog. 

Sometimes, too, a fog may settle low and high ob- 
jects may be visible above it, or again it may lift and 
hide all objects above a certain height and yet leave 
things close to the water within plain sight. 

In most places the approach of fogs may be readily 
seen, but quite frequently a fog will come on very 
suddenly or a light mist may suddenly shut in as a 
dense fog, while in some places fogs almost always 
occur at certain seasons or at certain hours and can 
be expected at such times. 

If a fog is seen approaching, or a light mist com- 
mences to thicken up, always try to make port before 
it becomes dense. If you have a compass make a note 
of the direction you must steer, look about for vessels 
that may be in your course and note the direction of 
the wind, the waves and the courses other craft are 
sailing, if any can be seen. 

If you have no compass note the direction of the 
waves and wind as compared with the course you wish 
to take, pick out some prominent landmark or beacon 



150 THE BOOK OF THE SAILBOAT 

for which you can steer and when the fog shuts in 
guide your course by the waves and not by the wind, 
for a wind often shifts about when the fog arrives. 

If you have no compass and are in any doubt as to 
how you are heading, drop your sails and anchor at 
once, or if you can reach a buoy, moor to that until 
the fog lifts. 

There is nothing much more perilous than sailing 
about blindly in a fog, for you are liable to. sail in a 
circle, or far off your course, and when the fog lifts, 
if you haven't run aground or into another vessel, 
you may find yourself out of sight of land or many 
miles from your destination. 

Always have a foghorn when sailing in localities 
where fogs occur and if for any reason you have no 
horn, shout halloo or beat on a bucket or a tin pan 
at intervals to warn other vessels of your presence. 

Sometimes, if you climb to the masthead, you may 
be able to see above the fog or through it, for fogs 
are often thin a few feet above the water, and if you 
find this is the case your companion may be able to 
stay aloft and direct you, or you may be able to 
locate some landmark and to discover in which direc- 
tion to proceed. If you see that the water is visible 
for quite a distance about and yet the fog is thick, you 
may be able to see a long way by leaning over the 
boat's side and peering ahead close to the surface of 
the sea, while if there are whistling or bell buoys in 
the vicinity these may serve to guide you. 

Always proceed slowly and cautiously in a fog, for 
a reef or a vessel is likely to loom up close aboard at 



SIMPLE NAVIGATION 



151 



any moment and you must be ever alert and have your 
boat under perfect control ready for any emergency. 
If there is someone with you, have him stand in the 
bow and report anything which he sees and above all 
sound fog signals of some sort at intervals of not 
more than a minute and if you hear another vessel's 
signals veer off and be sure you understand whether she 
is on the port or the starboard tack or is running before 
the wind. 




Effect of Waves on Stability 



Sailing in heavy weather or in large seas is very 
different from sailing in smooth water and no one 
should attempt sailing a boat in strong winds or heavy 
seas unless thoroughly expert in handling a boat, or 
unless compelled to do so by necessity. 

More accidents happen when running in a seaway 
than under any other conditions, for a boat which may 
be perfectly safe and stable in an ordinary sea, may 
capsize quickly if not handled with the utmost care 
and skill in large waves. 



152 THE BOOK OF THE SAILBOAT 

The effect of waves upon a boat's stability is seldom 
realized even by fairly competent sailors. This may 
be better understood by the accompanying diagram 
which represents a boat in waves as viewed in section 
and supposedly sailing with a beam wind in a sea 
running broadside on, A. If she is heeled to an 
angle of fifteen degrees, as shown, she would be per- 
fectly safe, provided the surface of the water re- 
mained constant, but if a wave came from the lee- 
ward, or right, as indicated by the dotted line B, 
the angle would be suddenly increased to thirty degrees 
in relation to the waves' surface. Under normal con- 
ditions she might recover herself and swing back to 
fifteen degrees, or until her mast assumed the position 
shown by the vertical line, but long before she could 
so recover herself among the waves she probably would 
be swamped. 

Moreover, in a sea a boat always rolls and if she is 
sailing at an angle, or heel, of fifteen degrees and rolls 
an additional fifteen degrees she is liable to capsize, 
and if her extreme roll occurs in unison with such a 
position as indicated in the diagram C, she would in- 
evitably upset. 

Even if neither of these occurrences took place there 
is the danger of a sea underrunning her ^d. and leav- 
ing the lee side unsupported, as indicated by the line 
D, and the wind, which has force enough to heel 
her fifteen degrees when properly immersed in water, 
would then force her to the capsizing angle as shown. 

Aside from these dangers of the seas there is the 
added peril of a sudden gust or squall and if such a 



SIMPLE NAVIGATION 153 

sudden increase of wind strikes the sails when the 
hull is at its extreme leeward roll she will be certain 
to blow over. In this connection it should always be 
borne in mind that a wind which will only heel a 
boat to fifteen degrees when it blows steadily, may 
heel her to the upsetting point if applied suddenly. In 
other words, it is not so much the actual force of the 
wind which must be guarded against as the sudden- 
ness of its application. 

Many amateur sailors seem to think that when sail- 
ing among waves danger may be guarded against by 
sitting on the upper, or windward, side of the boat or 
by shifting ballast to the windward side. This is a 
very grave mistake, for, as the boat rolls to windward 
when the waves run under her keel, the weight on the 
windward side may cause her to roll far enough to be 
swamped or it may prevent her from recovering 
quickly and the next wave may strike her bottom and 
turn her completely over. In addition there is the 
danger that she may swing her sail to windward, be 
caught aback and upset in a flash. 

For these reasons always keep ballast, whether pas- 
sengers or real ballast, as near the center of the boat 
and as near the bottom as possible when sailing among 
waves and decrease the canvas until she cannot heel 
at a dangerous angle. A boat may be sailed among 
waves many times and not upset merely because the 
conditions described do not happen to occur conjointly 
and yet the very next time she may capsize under ap- 
parently identical conditions. Hence, you should 
always use the greatest care when among waves and 



154 THE BOOK OF THE SAILBOAT 

should invariably shorten sail until you are sure you 
are safe. 

Always try to avoid sailing with a beam sea, espe- 
cially if the wind is also from the side, for this is 
the most dangerous of all conditions. A heavy sea 
may cause the boat to roll over, the sail may swing 
and spill the wind and allow her to be caught aback 
with her weather roll and to avoid a breaking sea 
which may swamp her, it will be necessary to swing 
her about for eight points, or at right angles, which 
cannot be done in a seaway in time to avoid swamp- 
ing. 

Never try to luff a boat up to a sea when in this 
position, but ease the sheet, swing her off and let the 
sea run diagonally under her keel. Remember that in 
waves a deep keel or a centerboard may prevent a 
great deal of the roll and even if running free keep 
your centerboard down, unless you find it causes her 
to steer badly. 

If in order to reach your destination, it is necessary 
to run across a heavy sea with a beam wind you can 
avoid the danger of doing so by quartering or zigzag- 
ging — first heading up into the wind for a time and 
then turning and running with the wind on the quar- 
ter as shown by the diagram. 

When running up the wind in this way you should 
luff right up into any heavy sea as it approaches, so 
as to take it bow-on, and the instant it has passed 
put the helm up, let the sails fill well and gather good 
headway to meet the next sea. Finally, when ready to 
go about choose a time when riding on the top of a 



SIMPLE NAVIGATION 155 

long, easy sea; swing her about quickly, ease off the 
sheets and use great care not to let the boat swing 
beam-on to the seas. 

In puffs or squalls, and as you rise towards the 
crests of the waves, when running in seas, the boat 
should be luffed up and sheets eased before she is 
heeled rail-under, for if you wait too long she will 
answer her helm sluggishly and may capsize before 
she will luff to meet the sudden gust Don't let her 
lose headway but as soon as the squall has passed or 
the craft has righted bear off again until the next puff 
comes along. 

Almost as dangerous as sailing in a beam sea is 
running before wind and sea or "scudding" among 
waves, and many a good craft and many a valuable 
life has been sacrificed to carelessness or ignorance 
when scudding in a seaway. 

The two greatest perils are getting brought by the 
lee and broaching-to. The former occurs when the 
boat's bow falls off to leeward by her stern being 
thrown to windward as a wave runs under her, while 
the latter is brought about by the head swinging into 
the wind and her stern off, thus causing her sail to 
"spill" with the result that she loses headway, swings 
broadside to the waves and upsets. Only the quickest 
and most expert handling can save a boat under these 
conditions and frequently she will refuse to come about 
or to answer her helm as she is raced along on the 
crest of a wave. If it is absolutely necessary to run 
before a sea, reduce sail, top the boom up well by the 
topping-lift or the peak halyards and stand ready to 



156 THE BOOK OF THE SAILBOAT 

haul in the sheet and to swing her into the wind or to 
ease her off instantly. 

Keep the centerboard up, or halfway up is better, 
and devote every energy, every attention and every 
sense to handling your boat and pay heed to nothing 
else. 

Even then there are many dangers to be guarded 
against. If sail is too greatly reduced your boat may 
lag between seas and a following wave may run over 
her stern and poop her; if there is a trifle too much 
sail or even if the sail is of the right area, she may 
scud off a wave and bury her bow in a preceding sea 
and be swamped, or her boom may catch in a sea as 
she yaws and thus capsize her. 

If she shows signs of running too fast a drag, such 
as an oar, a thwart, a floorboard or even a cushion 
may be attached to a fairly long line over the stern 
and this will not only hold the boat back, but it will 
keep her steadier and will serve to prevent seas from 
breaking as well. 

Oil thrown or dropped over the stern will also aid 
greatly in preventing a following sea from breaking 
over a boat's stern. Oil should always be on hand. It 
doesn't make much difference what kind of oil is used, 
but the heavier it is the better and only a very little 
is necessary ; a wad of oil-soaked rag or cotton waste, 
or even oil squeezed from a sponge will often produce 
really marvelous results. 

But the best and safest method is to avoid running 
before wind and sea by heading into the wind and 
running fairly free and then wearing ship and sailing 



/ 

SIMPLE NAVIGATION 157 

with a quartering wind and thus zigzagging over the 
course to be covered. 

When sailing to windward against a sea there is 
comparatively little danger, if the boat is luffed up to 
meet the seas and is not allowed to lose headway. 
Then when ready to go about, if tacking, wait for an 
opportunity when there is a long, smooth-topped sea 
and swing the boat on the other tack quickly and stand 
ready to bring her about with an oar if she misses 
stays, for if she does this serious results may follow 
and she may be caught without headway, swung about 
and upset before you can get her under way again. 

It is far less dangerous to handle a boat in a gale 
than in a seaway, but of course if the gale continues 
for any length of time the seas will rise. It is often 
far safer to ride out a gale than to attempt sailing in 
it, for few boats will fail to weather even a hard and 
prolonged gale and heavy seas if properly handled. 
If you have a sea-anchor or drogue aboard cast this 
over, lower or snug down sails, keep low down in the 
boat and if you have oil aboard allow it to drip over 
the bows. Under such conditions the drogue will 
break the force of the seas and keep the craft head to 
the wind and seas and the oil will prevent the crests 
from breaking over the boat. While she may rise and 
fall and pitch about tremendously there will be little 
real danger. 

If the wind is blowing in a different direction from 
the seas or across them, lower and stow the sails, but 
if the wind is in the same direction as the seas a bit 
of canvas will often keep her steady and make her 



158 THE BOOK OF THE SAILBOAT 

ride more easily. With a boom-and-gaff sail the sail 
may be lowered until a very small portion remains 
and the rest of the sail should then be secured about 
the boom and the sheets trimmed flat. Sometimes a 
small triangular sail, such as a spare jib, may be set 
aft above the furled sail, while with a yawl or ketch 
rig the mizzen may be set and trimmed flat. 

Above all things do not allow anyone to move about, 
to stand on the deck or to sit upon the gunwales of a 
boat in a heavy sea or in a squall, but keep all the 
weight as low and as stationary as possible. Always 
make everything snug and fasten all loose ropes and 
lines when riding out a gale or a squall, for trailing 
ropes, flapping sails and swinging lines are liable to 
cause trouble, aside from the fact that they will be- 
come tangled and will not run freely when wanted. 

As a rule it will not be necessary to ride out a gale 
in a small boat for severe storms seldom come so 
quickly that sails cannot be reefed and shelter reached 
before the wind and seas rise until dangerous. Thun- 
der storms and squalls, however, are often so sudden 
and unexpected that the amateur sailor has no time to 
run for a harbor and sometimes, when off a lee shore, 
it is dangerous to heave a boat to in order to reef. 
Under such circumstances great care and skill are re- 
quired to weather the sudden blow in safety, especially 
when off a lee shore and everyone who handles a sail- 
boat should be prepared for such events. 

Have the sheet ready to let go instantly and drop 
the peak of the sail, if a boom-and-gaff rig, and if the 
boat carries a jib drop that. 



SIMPLE NAVIGATION # 159 

If the squalls are light they may be seen approach- 
ing by watching the surface of the water, while if 
heavy or if they come when there is quite a sea run- 
ning, the approach of the gusts will be indicated by 
white, scudding crests to the waves. Don't try to bear 
away or ease off the sheets to avoid these squalls 
but luff up slightly to meet them, allowing the luff of 
•the sail to tremble but keeping the after part of the 
sail filled and by doing this and bearing off between 
squalls to gather headway a boat may be safely sailed 
through very heavy and frequent puffs. 

If close to shore, however, or among reefs where 
there is little space for maneuvering, it is often impos- 
sible to luff into the squalls without danger of running 
aground and in such situations it will be necessary to 
ease off the sheet and flow the sail until the luff 
trembles, but under no circumstances should you turn 
and run before the wind when it's squally. As soon 
as your sail is before the wind you cannot prevent the 
full force of the puffs from hitting it without swing- 
ing broadside to the squall and if this is done there is 
a very great chance of upsetting the boat. 

If on a lee shore you should of course luff up, for 
you must use every endeavor to "claw-off" the land. 
If you always remember the following simple rule you 
will seldom have trouble in weathering reasonable 
squalls. Off a lee shore or where there is ample sea 
room, luff up to squalls. If off a weather shore or 
zvith obstructions to windward ease off for squalls. 

Finally, if you lower sails in a squall, be sure to 
spill the sail before lowering away, as otherwise it may 



160 THE BOOK OF THE SAILBOAT 

catch a puff of wind, balloon out and capsize the boat. 
If you wish to reef in squalls either anchor or throw 
out a drogue to keep head-on to the puffs. 

If the squalls are very heavy and there is plenty of 
space to leeward lower the sails, throw out a drogue 
or anchor or scud before the wind under bare poles 
until the squalls decrease sufficiently to permit you to 
reef. 

In handling boats an ounce of prevention is worth 
many tons of cure, and if you keep your weather eye 
open, as sailors say, there will seldom be occasion for 
you to face difficulties unprepared. Changes of wind 
or weather are almost invariably presaged by certain 
signs or symptoms which may readily be noticed and 
understood and everyone who sails a boat should learn 
to recognize the signs which indicate certain condi- 
tions. 

Of course if one has a barometer the approach- 
ing weather conditions may be determined very easily, 
but even without this instrument a person who is 
weatherwise may usually foretell the approach of 
good or bad weather or of rain or wind many hours 
in advance. 

Among the commonest and most noticeable indica- 
tions are the following, and only in very rare instances 
will these signs fail: 



Unusual twinkling of stars, 
Double horns to the moon, 
Halos around stars or 

moon, "Wind dogs" Increasing wind, or rain with 

a liability o'f wind. 



SIMPLE NAVIGATION 161 

Wind shifting from west to 

east Increase of wind from the 

other direction. 

Rosy sky at sunset Fine weather. 

Sickly, greenish-colored sun- 
set Wind and rain. 

Dark red or crimson sunset. Rain. 

Bright-yellow sky at sunset. Wind. 

Pale-yellow, or saffron, sun- 
set Rain. 

Mixed red and yellow sun- 
set Rain and squally weather. 

Remarkably clear atmosphere 
with distant objects stand- 
ing above the water and 

seemingly in air Wind, usually from the 

northwest, and often rain. 

Heavy dews Fine weather. 

Fogs Change in weather and little 

wind. 

Misty clouds on hills, re- 
maining stationary, in- 
creasing or descending. . . Rain and wind. 

Misty clouds on hills, rising 

or dispersing Fairer weather. 

Red morning sky Bad weather and wind. 

Gray morning sky Fine weather. 

High dawn (dawn seen 

above a bank of clouds) . . Wind. 

Low dawn (daylight break- 
ing close to the horizon) . . Fair. 

Soft, delicate clouds Fair and light winds. 

Hard-edged, oily clouds Wind. 

Dark, gloomy sky Windy. 

Light, bright sky Fine weather. 

Small, inky clouds Rain. 

Light "scud," or small clouds 
moving across heavier 
clouds Wind and rain. 

Light, scudding clouds by 

themselves Wind and dry weather. 

High, upper clouds scudding 
past moon or stars in a 
different direction from 
the lower cloud-masses... Change of wind. 



162 THE BOOK OF THE SAILBOAT 

After fine weather a change 
is indicated by light streaks, 
wisps, or mottled patches 
of distant clouds which in- 
crease and join. A haze 
which becomes murky and 
clouds the sky also indi- 
cates a change to bad 
weather. 

Light, delicate colors, with 

so'ft-edged clouds Fine weather. 

Brilliant, or gaudy, colors 
and sharp, hard - edged 
clouds Rain and wind. 

A mackerel sky (small, sepa- 
rate, white clouds cover- 
ing the sky) Wet weather. 

"Mares' tails" (long, wispy, 
curved, isolated clouds 
against a blue sky) Wind. 

Rainbow early in the morn- 
ing Bad weather. 

Rainbows in afternoon Fair. 



Many of these weather indications have become so 
widely known and universally recognized by seamen 
that they have been put into doggerel verse to make 
them more easily remembered and every boat sailor 
should learn these, for nine times out of ten they will 
prove true. 



If wind shifts against the sun, 
Trust it not, 'for back 'twill run. 



Mackerels' scales and Mares' tails, 
Cautious sailors shorten sails. 



A mackerel sky 
Seldom passes over dry. 



SIMPLE NAVIGATION 163 

Rainbow in the morning, sailors take warning. 
Rainbow at night, sailor's delight. 

* * * 
Sun rising low and clear, 
Bad weather do not fear. 
Sunrise hidden, light on high, 
Reef your sails for wind is nigh. 

* * * 

When the sun sinks bathed in gold, 
Strong winds surely are foretold, 
But if red the sun should set, 
Then the morrow will be wet, 
While if pink shows in the West, 
Weather will be of the best. 

* * * 

If a ring surrounds the moon, 
Wind and rain are coming soon. 
Twinkling stars that brightly glow 
Show that there will be a blow. 

* * * 
Sunrise red, bad weather ahead, 
Sunrise gray, a pleasant day. 

* * * 
When the sea's against the wind, 
Then your topsail halliards mind. 

There are many more of these known to mariners, 
but the above are the most important and familiar and 
while the signs may fail at times yet it must be borne 
in mind that even the government experts, with their 
highly perfected and delicate instruments, are often 
at fault in their forecasts of the weather. With all 
our knowledge and scientific research, we really know 
very little about atmospheric conditions and changes 
and many an old sailor or fisherman can foretell fair or 
foul weather, wind or rain, almost as accurately as the 
trained observers of the Weather Bureau. 



CHAPTER IX 



BUILDING SMALL BOATS 



Very few men or boys are capable of planning, draft- 
ing, laying down and building a round-bottomed boat. 
Even if you are expert enough to do this, the finishec 
product will not compare to a boat built by a profes- 
sional and it will cost far more, especially if time anc 
satisfaction count for anything, than a readymade craft 
or one built to order. 

There are many reliable firms which furnish pat- 
terns for all sorts of boats, from canoes and skiffs to 
schooner yachts and big power-cruisers. By means oi 
these patterns and the directions which accompany 
them, any person who has patience and is handy with 
woodworking tools can build a boat. It is only neces- 
sary to mark off the patterns on the proper lumber, 
work the planks and timbers to shape and put them 
together according to directions, but even then you'll 
find some difficulties to be overcome. 

These same firms also sell "knock-down" boats 
which have all the planks, timbers and other parts 

164 



BUILDING SMALL BOATS 165 

sawed and formed, and by purchasing these it is a very- 
simple matter to build a boat. Full directions accom- 
pany these knock-down boats and even the nails, screws, 
rivets and other fastenings and all the hardware and 
fittings are furnished if desired. 

If you really must build a boat, the best plan is to 
look over the catalogs of these firms, select the model 
and size that suits you and then purchase the patterns 
or the ready-cut materials. You will no doubt obtain 
a great deal of pleasure and satisfaction by thus con- 
structing your own boat, but your first attempts will 
not approach the boats built by men who have spent 
years 'at boat-building and have learned every little 
"kink" and trick of their trade. 

In most places the cost of a readymade boat will be 
very little, if any, more than the one built at home by 
an amateur, but the fun of making it, the experience 
gained and the knowledge of using tools which you 
will acquire may make it worth while. 

As a rule, however, it is not advisable to attempt to 
build a large, or even a medium-sized, boat and your 
first efforts at least should be confined to boats less than 
twenty feet in length. Even in craft of such small 
dimensions you will find there is plenty of hard, heavy 
work to be done. Planks and timbers must be steamed 
and bent ; tough, hard oak must be cut, planed, chiselled 
and worked accurately and neatly. Many of the pro- 
cesses used in boat-building are different from those 
employed in any other form of carpentry and as a re- 
sult a previous knowledge of woodworking may be 
of little value when constructing a boat. 



166 THE BOOK OF THE SAILBOAT 



But there are many boats which any handy man or 
boy can build easily and cheaply and which will prove 
safe, seaworthy and excellent sailing craft. These 
are the flat-bottomed boats, known as skiffs or sharpies, 
for a sharpie is really nothing more than a large skiff 
provided with a centerboard and with dimensions and 
lines designed to adapt it to sailing. 

Before commencing to build any sort of a boat, how- 
ever, you should have the proper tools with which to 
work, for without good tools it is impossible for a per- 
son to build even a simple flat-bottomed boat. 

The tools required for building a boat are neither 
numerous nor expensive, but only tools of high grade 
should be purchased for a cheap or poor tool is an 
abomination and is almost as bad as none at all. 

Of course, many people will have most of the re- 
quired tools on hand, but for the benefit of those who do 
not the entire list is given as follows : A large rip- 
saw; a coarse crosscut saw; a fine crosscut or panel 
saw ; a compass saw ; a tenon saw ; a hack saw. 

The ripsaw should have about six teeth to the inch. 
The compass saw should be rather fine, about eight teeth 
to the inch. A miter saw and miter box will prove 
very useful in addition to the above. 

Keep the saws bright and clean and when using them 
in gummy, pitchy or fibrous wood rub them with hard 
soap or chalk to prevent them from binding, but do not 
use oil as it will only make matters worse. Never stand 
a saw up so the blade bends and under no circumstan- 
ces should you twist or bend the saw when sawing in 
order to pry or split off the wood. A saw which is 






BUILDING SMALL BOATS 167 

out of true, bent or sprung will bind and catch and will 
not saw straight. 

You will also require several planes, such as a jack 
plane ; a smoothing plane ; a block plane ; a rabbit plane. 
These may be of wood or iron as preferred and in ad- 
dition you will find a bull-nosed plane, for planing in 
corners; a pair of matching planes and some beading 
or moulding planes very useful. 

There should be several mortising chisels of I inch, 
f inch, | inch and ^ inch sizes, and also two or 
three gouges varying from i^ to f inch in size. 

A good drawknife is almost essential, and a spoke- 
shave will prove very convenient. 

A ratchet bitstock, or brace, is necessary and you 
should provide a good assortment of bits and augers to 
go with it. The best bits to use are those of twist-drill 
pattern, for these will not split the wood like ordinary 
gimlet-bits, and if you bore against a knot, a nail, a 
screw or any other metal object you can bore through 
it without injuring the bit. The bits should range in 
size from -J inch to \ inch in diameter, and the augers, 
which should be of the ship-auger pattern, should 
range from -§ to i inch in diamter. 

A breast, or hand, drill with assorted twist-drills will 
be useful and you should have several gimlets ; at least 
two brad-awls; a countersink; a reamer, and a bit- 
brace screwdriver. 

Extension bits, which can be adjusted to various 
sizes, are exceedingly useful and convenient, but are 
not absolutely necessary. 

A medium-sized mallet; a claw-hammer; a small 



168 THE BOOK OF THE SAILBOAT 

hammer; two screwdrivers; a spirit level; a steel 
square; cutting pliers; compasses; a bevel gauge; a 
carpenter's gauge ; a yardstick ; a folding two-foot rule ; 
an oil stone; wood rasps; flat or bastard files; a saw 
file; a carpenter's pencil; some iron carpenter's 
clamps; an old flatiron; a bench vise and a caulking- 
iron complete the list of tools. 

In addition to all these you will need some benches 
or horses, a good workbench, screws, rivets, nails, etc. 

Copper or galvanized iron nails and brass or galvan- 
ized iron screws should be used exclusively. Round 
"wire" nails will serve very well. Boat nails rivetted 
over burrs, clout-nails which are clinched, or plain 
copper nails will serve equally well, according to the 
purpose for which they are to be used. Where a nail 
is used to hold two pieces of wood together and does 
not pass entirely through, wire nails can be used to ad- 
vantage, but if the nail goes entirely through both 
pieces, which is necessary to insure great strength, or 
where two thin pieces of wood are fastened together, 
rivets and burrs or clout-nails should be used. 

Screws are to be avoided, for they require rather 
large holes, they often work loose and after getting 
them part way in they are liable to twist off or the 
slots may become so scarred that you cannot turn them 
out or in. 

Next comes the question of material. If you pur- 
chase patterns or ready-cut material, the wood to be 
used will be determined by the directions furnished; 
but if you expect to plan and build a boat by yourself 
you will have to select and buy the lumber which is 



BUILDING SMALL BOATS 169 

best adapted to your boat and which can be most read- 
ily obtained. 

For planking, white cedar, white pine, mahogany, 
yellow pine, basswood or cypress may be used. For 
frames, knees, stems and sternposts, transoms and ribs 
there is nothing better than good, clear white oak. 

For making a flat-bottomed boat or sharpie, clear 
white pine or cypress is the best material for the planks ; 
cypress or white cedar should be used for the bottom, 
and all the timbers, frames, transom and stem should 
be of oak. 

The size and thickness of the various pieces of lumber 
will vary according to the dimensions of your boat, 
but for boats up to twenty feet in length, f inch plank- 
ing, i inch bottom boards and ribs, gunwales, deck tim- 
bers, etc., of oak I inch square will be strong enough. 
The transom should be of I inch oak, the deadwood 
may be of i| or 2 inch oak or two 1 inch pieces bolted 
together; the keel should be of i| inch oak, and the 
certerboard should be of 1 inch oak or yellow pine. 

These are the extremes and the dimensions of tim- 
bers, ribs, centerboard and such parts may be reduced 
for smaller boats. Side planks f or even ^ inch thick 
will be very strong if more numerous ribs are used, 
and for small skiffs the bottom can be made of f inch 
stuff and the ribs may be reduced to -| inch square. 

It is a mistake, however, to make a boat too light, 
if it is to be used for sailing, for a reasonably heavy 
boat will have more headway, will handle better and 
will be more stable and seaworthy than a very light 
craft. 



170 THE BOOK OF THE SAILBOAT 

Before commencing your boat you should determine 
the exact dimensions. Until you are familiar with the 
principles of boat designing and have learned to figure 
out displacements, load-water lines, centers of efforts 
and resistance and many other technical details your 
best plan is to find some other boat that suits your ideas 
and copy her measurements. 

Once you have determined on the measurements you 
should mark them full, or at least half, size on a smooth, 
flat floor or some similar surface, as you will find it far 
more convenient to get out the various parts from such 
large plans than to work from small scale draw- 
ings. 

As soon as you have these rough outlines and meas- 
urements ready you must make forms or molds. These 
may be sawed from planks or may be formed by nail- 
ing several pieces together, but in either case they must 
conform perfectly to the shape of the boat you have 
planned and both sides must be absolutely alike, for a 
very slight variation may ruin the sailing qualities of 
the boat. 

These forms represent the section of the boat at 
amidships, near the bow and half-way between stern 
and amidships and their shape can easily be determined 
from your plans. 

The transom or sternpiece should then be gotten out 
and the next work is to make the stem. 

This will require care and time, for the sides must 
be cut away by chisel and plane until they will just 
receive the ends of the side planks neatly, and the angle 
of these depressions, or rabbits, must be determined by 



> 


V — T 


6titt-tB.fr 


1 ' / 
S — ' 




\ I * 



%F zr l 





Building a Flat-bottomed Boat 

^2—Boat fastenings. 3, 4, 5— Molds. 6— Transom. 7— Stem. 
8— Stem and throat knee. 9— Stern fastened to keel. 10^ 
Transom fastened to keel. 1 1— Lining up sides. 12— Molds in 
position. 13 — Ribs. 14 — Mast thwart. 15 — Section showing 
construction. 16— Centerboard. 17— Rudder and post. 



172 THE BOOK OF THE SAILBOAT 

the angle at which the sides meet at the bow on the 
plan you have drawn. 

When the stem, transom and molds are ready, take 
the piece to be used as a keel, cut the slit for the center- 
board in it, and fasten the deadwood or "skeg" in 
place by means of bolts, screws and nails driven in from 
the upper side of the keel. Place the keel on the 
horses, with blocks beneath it to hold it at the proper 
curve, tacking them lightly to both keel and horses. 

Fasten the keel in place by clamps and by tacking it 
lightly and secure the stem in position by means of a 
block or a knee. Fasten the transom at the opposite, or 
stern, end and set your molds at the points where they 
belong with the lower edges flush with the bottom of 
the keel. 

Line up the center of the stem, molds and transom 
by a line stretched along them, arrange all the molds 
and the transom so they are parallel and exactly at 
right angles to the keel and secure them rigidly by 
means of light strips, or battens, tacked along their tops 
and brace them very securely by pieces running to the 
benches and keel. 

Then take one of the side planks, clamp one end 
fast to the stem, so it fits snugly in the rabbit, and 
bend it slowly around the various molds to the tran- 
som and clamp it to each mold and to the transom. 
If you have someone to help you while doing this it 
will be far easier, for while one person holds or 
bends the board the other can secure it by the clamps. 

Here, too, you will find why it was necessary to 
fasten stem, molds and transom firmly, for the entire 



BUILDING SMALL BOATS 173 

strain of the bending plank will come against them, and 
unless they are absolutely rigid the stem will swing 
to one side and throw the boat out of true. To pre- 
vent this it is a good plan to fasten braces from the 
top of the stem to the sides of the building where 
you are working, so that the stem cannot by any pos- 
sibility be moved. When the plank is in position take 
a thin, straight strip, or batten, of wood, lay it along 
the upper edge of the plank — tacking it in position 
at the stem, at each mold and at the transom and mark 
along this to give the sheer curve at the top of the 
plank. Remove the batten and use it in the same way 
at the bottom of the molds. 

Then take off the side plank, saw carefully along 
the marks made by the batten, cut the other plank 
exactly like it and replace it, securing it first by clamps, 
and then by boat nails driven through it into stem 
and transom and tack it lightly to each mold. In 
driving the nails be sure to drill holes through the 
plank first, as otherwise it may be split. 

When both planks are in place, lay a straight stick 
across from side to side and plane down the upper edges 
of the planks until the stick rests squarely upon the 
edges of both planks, instead of on one corner of each, 
as it will do at first. When both sides are bevelled 
place the various frame or rib pieces on the insides 
of the planks, spacing them about i foot apart, meas- 
uring along the curve of the sides, and being sure to 
keep them parallel and leaving a space of i| inches 
between their lower ends and the bottom edges of 
the planks. Secure them by means of rivets and burrs, 



174 THE BOOK OF THE SAILBOAT 

with the burrs on the inside, or by means of clout-nails 
clinched over on the inside and use the old flatiron, 
held against the head of each nail or rivet as you burr 
or clinch them with the hammer. 

Saw each rib off at the top, just even with the 
planks, and then fit a good stout piece of oak or throat 
knee between the planks and stem at the bow and fit 
two other knees at the corners of the planks where 
they join the transom. 

At the spot where the mast is to be stepped secure a 
strong, oak crosspiece, or thwart, with the mast hole 
cut in it, across from one plank to the other by nail- 
ing, or bolting, pieces across the ribs just the thickness 
of the mast thwart below the upper edges of the planks. 
Bolt or screw the mast thwarts to these and then 
secure a block, with a hole in it, to the keel directly 
under the mast hole in the thwart. 

If the boat is to be open you can place another thwart 
across the stern, but if it is to be decked, or partly 
decked, the other thwarts can be put in just as well 
later on. The next step is to make the centerboard 
and its case and place the latter in position. 

The centerboard case is made by securing two pieces, 
known as trunk-logs, to the keel, using white lead and 
strips of canton flannel or thin felt under them and 
drawing them tight to the keel by means of long screws 
run up from below. Of course, it will be necessary to 
curve the lower edges of these pieces to fit the keel 
snugly before putting them in place. 

Then rivet the ends of these to the upright posts 
at the ends, which should also be set in white lead and 



BUILDING SMALL BOATS 175 

screwed to the keel, and then build up the case by other 
boards to a height well above the water line. The board 
itself may be made either of several pieces of wood or 
a single piece. In the former case the strips should 
be dowelled together and a transverse strip should be 
placed at each end to prevent the pieces from sepa- 
rating, while if one piece is used, end pieces should 
be fastened on to prevent the plank from warping or 
splitting. The board should be pivotted by running 
a brass bolt through the two sides of the case and the 
board with a piece of pipe, an old rowlock socket, or 
some similar "bushing" in the board to prevent the 
hole in the wood from wearing. 

The board should be hung so it can be raised and 
lowered easily. In order to do this, the pivot should be 
near the lower front corner, and the upper rear end 
of the board must be rounded or slanted off so it will 
swing up into the case. 

The top of the case may be left open or a piece of 
board may be fitted over it with a hole for the rope 
or chain which is used to control the board to pass 
through. Be careful to adjust this chain, or rope, so 
the board cannot drop too far as it should not fall be- 
yond the perpendicular. 

The next step is to place light, diagonal braces across 
from side to side and from molds to side planks, tacking 
them lightly in position, and then remove the braces 
and clamps from the keel. Lift the boat from the 
benches, turn it upside down and plane off the lower 
edges of the planks until square as you did the upper 
edges. 



176 THE BOOK OF THE SAILBOAT 



Then fit a piece of oak along the lower edge of each 
side plank, cutting little notches in it to fit around the 
end of each rib. Rivet these to the sides, plane off the 
bevel to bring these pieces true with the edges of the 
planks and you are ready to put on the bottom plank- 
ing. 

The bottom may be run either lengthwise, or cross- 
wise, on a flat-bottomed boat, but if run lengthwise 
cross timbers are required, which are a nuisance, and 
the crosswise planking does just as well and is far 
easier to make. 

Place a piece of the bottom planking across the bow, 
covering the stem and extending a short distance on 
either side of the side planks. Smear the lower end 
of the stem, the keel and the side planks with thick 
white lead and nail the piece securely into the stem, 
the keel and the two oak pieces along the sides and to 
the side planks also. In driving these nails be sure 
and set them at an angle to correspond with the slope 
of the sides, or else they will split out and cause your 
boat to leak. 

Fit another cross plank behind this with plenty of 
white lead between the edges and secure it in place. 
Continue in this way until the slot for the centerboard 
is reached. Here the planks must be run from each side 
of the slots to the side planks, and where the deadwood, 
or skeg, is fastened the same method must be fol- 
lowed. 

When the bottom is fully planked saw off the pro- 
jecting ends close to the sides, being careful to keep 
the same angle and not to scar or cut the side planks, 



BUILDING SMALL BOATS 177 

and then, with the block plane, smooth the ends evenly 
with the side planks. 

When this is done fit a false keel, or rubbing-strake, 
along the center of the bottom with a slot cut in it to 
correspond with the centerboard slot and taper it at the 
rear to fit the lower surface of the deadwood. Smear 
the under surface of this, as well as the bottom where 
it rests, with thick copper paint and nail firmly in place. 
And don't forget to paint all the inside portions and 
joints of the centerboard case, as well as the board itself 
and the inside edges and slot in the keel, with copper 
paint before putting them together. 

You can now turn your boat over, knock out the 
molds and finish with the decking or other interior ar- 
rangements, but before taking out the molds you should 
put the deck beams in place, if a deck is to be used, 
or should place thwarts across from side to side, if the 
boat is to be left open. 

For a small, simple boat the deck beams may be run 
straight across from side to side and the cockpit may 
be made rectangular, with the forward end pointed or 
V-shaped. The deck may be made by nailing narrow 
strips along the timbers and following the curve of 
the sides, or wider planks may be nailed lengthwise and 
trimmed off to make a smooth, even edge with the 
sides, after which a covering board should be nailed 
over the joint and a strip of half-round molding 
should then be run along to protect the edges from be- 
ing injured, as well as to give a good finish to the boat. 

The edges of the cockpit should be finished by oak 
combing nailed to the deck and timbers, and a quarter- 



178 THE BOOK OF THE SAILBOAT 

round molding should then be run around the outside 
where the combing and the decks join. 

If the deck is carefully made and laid in white lead, 
it will be tight, but if desired it may be covered with 
canvas laid in paint and with the edges folded down 
over the sides, trimmed closely and concealed by the 
molding. 

The rudder should be made of either wood or metal. 
For a small boat, brass or galvanized iron is the best. 
It should be hung under the stern by means of a 
post run up through the keel and after deck. To pre- 
vent water from entering, a piece of brass tube, or pipe, 
threaded at both ends, is run through the hole, and set 
up closely by means of "waste-nuts," after which the 
ends of the pipe should be filed off smoothly and 
slightly rivetted or burred over to prevent the nuts 
from coming loose. 

If you succeed in building a sharpie, as directed, you 
can attempt a V-bottomed, or skipjack, boat or a dory, 
for the principles involved are the same in all, but space 
will not permit a full description of how to construct 
these. You can obtain a far better idea of how they 
are built by examining a boat and studying its various 
parts than by reading many pages of text. 

Finally let me warn you not to attempt to build any 
boat, not even a small, flat-bottomed skiff, unless you 
possess patience and perseverance and are willing to 
take plenty of time and painstaking care. No boat 
that is worth building can be made by slap-bang, care- 
less, slack methods. Boat-building is something which 
cannot be hurried, for the finished result depends very 



BUILDING SMALL BOATS 179 

largely upon little things and attention to details. To 
watch a boat-builder, one would think that he did his 
work by guess and took little care, but in reality he 
does everything in a certain order and a certain way. 
His apparent carelessness is really expertness, for he 
has done exactly the same thing so many times that it 
becomes second nature and is almost involuntary. 

If there is a boat-builder in your vicinity visit his 
shop, watch him by the hour, note the way he handles 
his tools and the order in which he shapes the parts 
and puts them together and your time will be well 
spent. It's the best possible way to learn the details 
of boat-building. 



CHAPTER X 

WHAT NOT TO DO 

In learning to sail a boat or when handling a boat 
after you have learned to sail, there are certain things 
you should do and many other things you should not 
do and of these the latter are perhaps the most im- 
portant. 

In the first place don't try to learn to sail by using 
several different boats. Every boat has its peculiar- 
ities. If you use one boat on one day and another the 
next you will be confused and will be unable to make 
rapid progress, for one craft will sail to best advan- 
tage with the sails trimmed in one way and the very 
next boat you use may require very different treat- 
ment. One boat will sail closer to the wind than an- 
other, one will luff more quickly than another and one 
will come about readily every time, while the next may 
miss stays under the same conditions. Still other 
boats require special arrangements of ballast, a certain 
amount of centerboard or a definite trim in order to 
behave well and you must learn every whim and 

180 



WHAT NOT TO DO 181 

caprice of your craft to become expert in handling her. 

Don't try to learn to sail in a large boat or one 
with many sails or complicated rigging. Begin with 
a small craft with a single sail of the simplest pattern. 
When you are thoroughly familiar with this you can 
attempt handling larger boats with head-sails. 

Don't take your first lessons in a strong wind, in 
rough weather, or when there are signs of thunder 
storms, squalls or fogs. Select the very best weather 
for you'll have plenty to attend to without looking 
after the elements. 

Above all, don't be afraid to be afraid. Many a 
man is considered brave merely because he doesn't 
know enough to be afraid, but real bravery consists 
in realizing danger, being afraid of it and yet facing 
it calmly, deliberately and with intelligence. 

Don't be afraid of the opinions of others, if you 
think you should shorten sail reef at once, even if 
everyone else is carrying full sail and people laugh at 
your caution. 

Don't be afraid to fear squalls, fogs, gales or heavy 
seas for they are all treacherous and the more you 
fear them the more likely you'll be to safeguard your- 
self, your passengers and your boat. 

Don't be afraid to refuse to go sailing if you think a 
squall, storm, or fog is coming up, or if you think 
the weather too bad. It's better to be scoffed at and 
called a coward than to be shipwrecked or drowned. 
A live coward's better than a dead bravado any 
day. 

Don't be afraid to assert your authority. The cap- 



182 THE BOOK OF THE SAILBOAT 

tain of any craft is supreme aboard his boat and 
there should be no questioning of his orders or de- 
cisions. 

Don't take anyone with you who is nervous, 
cranky, hysterical, overbearing, grouchy or a "know 
it all." Such people spoil all the pleasure of a sail, 
they are a nuisance and in times of danger they often 
become a real menace to others. If they know more 
than you do, or think they do, they should be handling 
their own boats, not going as passengers in yours. 

Don't take anyone with you as a passenger until you 
are competent to handle your craft under any and all 
conditions. You have no right to imperil the lives of 
others. 

Don't take out a party unless there are life-pre- 
servers enough for all. Accidents happen to the best 
of sailors. 

Don't try to sail or handle a boat until you know 
how to swim. 

Don't set out on a sail without oars, compass, water, 
anchor and at least one life-preserver on board. 

Don't jump, run, wrestle or skylark in a sailboat. 

Don't allow anyone to sit upon a rope or line which 
may be used at any moment. 

Don't permit passengers to sit or stand on the bow 
or bowsprit unless for the express purpose of keeping 
a lookout. 

Don't tie or make the mainsheet fast. Hold it in 
your hand with a single turn about a cleat, so it can 
be released instantly. 

Don't try to show off by carrying all sail in a blow 



WHAT NOT TO DO 183 

or in squalls. Reef before it's too late. It's easier 
to shake out a reef than to put one in. 

Don't sail across or close to the wake of steamers to 
"get" their waves. It may result in the boat capsiz- 
ing and only shows you are a landlubber and a fool. 

Don't start out in the face of a storm, gale or squall. 
Wait until you are sure of what is going to happen 
and then reef close if you must go forth in a blow. 

Don't forget that you cannot judge the force of the 
wind or the size of waves from the shore. 

Don't brag about "liking to sail in storms." Real 
sailors cannot have weather too fair. 

Don't sail in fogs unless you have a compass and 
are sure of your course. 

Don't try to sail too close to reefs, to other vessels 
or any other obstructions; something may fail at the 
last moment and a collision or wreck may result. 

Don't forget that when sailing close to land sudden 
puffs or squalls are more frequent than in open water. 

Don't forget that another vessel, a rock, or the 
shore cuts off the wind and may cause you to lose 
headway and then when beyond the object the wind 
will strike you suddenly and perhaps with dangerous 
force. 

Don't fail to keep everything shipshape and orderly 
about the boat. A snarled or kinked line is a menace 
to life and limb. 

Don't sail with water in the boat. Water is so much 
shifting ballast and is dangerous, besides being un- 
pleasant and unnecessary. Bail the water out and 
keep it out. 



184 THE BOOK OF THE SAILBOAT 

Don't try to save a few cents by using old, rotten, 
or frayed ropes. New rope is cheaper than human 
lives. 

Don't use a leaky boat. If a boat leaks a little in 
smooth water it may leak fast enough to sink when in 
a seaway. 

Don't sail at night without lights. You are endan- 
gering yourself and other sailors as well. 

Don't assume that the "other fellow" knows how to 
sail and is familiar "with the rules of the road." He 
may be more ignorant than yourself. 

Don't wait too long before turning aside for an- 
other boat. Shift your helm to show your intentions. 

Don't try to sail too close to the wind. You'll 
reach your destination more quickly by sailing a few 
points off and thus traveling faster. 

Don't run dead before the wind if it can be avoided, 
especially in a seaway. 

Don't sit on the lee side when sailing on the wind. 

Don't climb up on the masts or into the rigging un- 
less it is necessary. A man's weight at the top of a 
mast may cause the boat to capsize. 

Don't lash or tie the helm under any circumstances. 

Don't leave a lowered sail unfurled. It ruins the 
sail and is dangerous. 

Don't try to run to a mooring or a landing before 
the wind when under sail. Lower the sail and run in 
under bare poles or row in. 

Don't fail to take the advice and suggestions of 
more experienced boatmen. 

Don't take others sailing until you are thoroughly 






WHAT NOT TO DO 185 

familiar with the boat and know how to handle it 
under all conditions. 

Don't anchor or moor a boat where she will rest on 
a hard, rocky or uneven bottom at low water. 

Don't overload your boat. 

Don't sail in strange waters without a chart or a 
pilot. 

Don't lose your head or get "rattled." Keep cool 
and use your brains and common sense. 

Don't fail to keep your gaze to windward. Seas 
and wind puffs come from that side. 

Don't neglect the boat or allow your attention to be 
distracted by your companions. 

Don't attempt to tack or go about with a large wave 
rolling on your weather bow. Wait for a smooth, or 
when on the summit of a long, easy roller. 

Don't jibe if it can be helped. It's just as easy and 
far safer to wear ship. 

Don't luff a boat sufficiently to stop her headway. 
Keep steerage-way at all times. 

Don't try to cross another boat's bows if she is 
under way. 

Don't get frightened if the boat upsets. Crawl up 
on the bottom over the weather side. A capsized boat 
will support a number of people in perfect safety. 

Don't take to the water if there is any floating ob- 
ject to cling to. Even an oar will support a person. 

Don't let go of the helm and run about. 

Don't let sails, ropes or garments trail in the water. 

Don't forget that a loaded or heavy boat has more 
momentum or headway than a light or empty boat. 



186 THE BOOK OF THE SAILBOAT 

Don't trust a squall which you cannot see through. 

Don't use a brand new rope for any part of the 
running rigging. Stretch it and work it through 
tackles or over a beam before reeving it through the 
blocks of your boat. 

Don't sail in a beam wind and sea if it can possibly 
be avoided. 

Don't forget that if you are obliged to ride out a 
gale that oars, cushions, thwarts and spare canvas 
lashed together and attached to a line over the bow 
will hold the craft to the wind and seas and will also 
form a "smooth" for the boat. 

Don't under any circumstances allow liquor aboard 
your boat. If your friends must drink spirits let them 
stay ashore to indulge themselves. They have no place 
in a boat. 



SOME NAUTICAL TERMS AND THEIR 
MEANINGS 



Aback. A sail is said to be 
aback when its forward 
side is acted upon by the 
wind. 

Abaft. A position toward 
the stern from any stated 
point. 

Abeam. At right angles to 
the line of the keel. 

About. To go from one 
tack to the other. 

Adrift. Broken loose or un- 
controlled. 

Aft. Towards the stern. 

A-lee. To the side of the 
craft opposite the wind. 
To the leeward side. 

All in the wind. When the 
sails have the wind edge- 
on and shake. 

Amidships. In the middle. 
In line with the keel. 

Athwartships. Across the 
boat. At right angles to 
the keel. 

Avast. An order to stop or 
discontinue anything. 



A-weather. The side tow- 
ards the wind; to the 
windward side. 

Backstays. Stays or shrouds 
leading aft to support a 
mast or topmast. 

Bear up. To turn from the 
wind. 

Belay. To secure a rope 
about a cleat or pin. 

Bend. To make fast. A 
kind of knot. 

Berth. An anchorage or 
mooring. A slip or place 
where a boat rests at a 
dock. A sleeping place. 

Bight. A curve, noose or 
slack portion of rope. 

Bitts. Upright pieces of 
timber or metal to which 
ropes or cables are fas- 
tened. 

Blocks. Contrivances with 
sheaves or rollers through 
which ropes 4 are passed to 
make them move readily. 



187 



188 THE BOOK OF THE SAILBOAT 



Block and block. When two 
blocks o'f a tackle are 
brought as close together 
as possible. 

Block and tackle. Blocks 
with the ropes rove through 
them. 

Board. The distance made 
on a tack. 

Bobstay. A stay 'from the 
cutwater to the bowsprit- 
end. 

Bolt rope. The rope sewn 
around the edges of sails. 

Boom. A spar at the bottom 
or foot of a sail. A spar 
extended from a vessel's 
side to which small boats 
are fastened. A raft of 
logs in a river 'fastened 
together to hold other logs 
in place. 

Bowline. A line used on 
square sails to extend the 
forward edge of the sail 
when running close to the 
wind. To Sail on a Bow- 
line is to sail close to the 
wind. 

Bowse. To haul upon. 

Bowsprit. A spar extending 
forward from the bow. 

Brails. Ropes for drawing 
up a sail to the mast in 
order to furl it. 

Bring to. To come to an 
anchor or mooring. 

Bull's eye. A piece of wood 
with a hole in the center 
through which a rope may 
be passed. 

By the head. To be. deeper 
in the water at the bow 
than at the stern. 

By the wind. As near the 



wind as the boat will sail 
without the sails shak- 
ing; also called Full and 
By. 

Cable. A line or chain by 
which a vessel is anchored 
or moored. A left-handed- 
laid rope. 

Capsize. To upset. To 
loosen a knot. 

Carry away. To break or 
tear loose. 

Cast off. To untie; to 'free. 

Casting. To pay a vessel 
off on the desired tack. 

Cat's paw. A light puff or 
current of wind seen on 
the surface of the water. 
A kind of knot or bend. 

Chock a block. See Block 
and Block. Also used to 
denote fully laden. 

Cleat. A metal or wooden 
object to which ropes are 
fastened. 

Clew. The after corner of 
a fore-and-aft sail. The 
two lower corners of a 
square sail. 

Close hauled. Sailing as 
nearly as possible into the 
wind. 

Cockpit. The open after 
part of a boat. 

Course. The direction in 
which a boat is to pro- 
ceed. The lower sails on 
square-rigged vessels. 

Crank or cranky. Not sta- 
ble. Unable to carry sail 
well. To tip easily. Un- 
steady. 

Cringle. A thimble or eye 
worked in a sail and 



NAUTICAL TERMS AND MEANINGS 189 



through which a rope may- 
be passed. 

Crotch. A support of crossed 
pieces of wood, or metal, 
in which the boom rests 
when the sail is furled. 

Cutwater. The extreme for- 
ward edge of the bow. 

Davits. Curved iron or 

wooden objects to which 

boats are hoisted. 
Downhaul. Rope used to 

haul down sails. 
Dowse. To lower rapidly. 

Also to extinguish. 
Draught or draft. The 

amount o'f water in which 

a boat is immersed when 

afloat. 

Earrings. Lines passed 

through cringles. 
Ease off. To slacken. 
Ensign. The national flag 

of any country. 
Entrance. The lower part 

of a vessel's stem. 

Fag end. The end that is 
frayed. 

Fall off. To move away 
from the wind. 

Fathom. Six feet. 

Fid. A sharp, tapered tool 
used in splicing rope. 

Fill away. To have the 
wind fill the after surfaces 
of the sails and the vessel 
proceed on her course. 

Fore reach. To pass to 
windward of another ves- 
sel when close hauled. 

Foul. Anything entangled. 
To come into contact. 



Furl. To stow a sail. 

Gaff. The spar that supports 
the top o'f a fore-and-aft 
sail. A pole with a sharp 
hook on the end. 

Gangway. The place where 
people come aboard. An 
opening in a vessel's side. 
Room to pass. 

Garboard st rakes. The 
planks next to the keel on 
a boat's bottom. 

Gasket. A lashing of rope 
or a strip of canvas used 
to secure sails, etc. 

Go about. To tack. To 
alter the course so the sail 
fills on the other side. 

Grapnel. A four-pronged 
anchor. 

Griping. Carrying a hard 
weather helm. 

Grommet. A ring of rope. 
A metal ring used in place 
of an eyelet in a sail. 

Ground tackle. The anchor, 
cable and fittings. 

Halyards or Halliards. 

Ropes used to hoist sails. 

Handsomely. Carefully, 
smartly. 

Handy billy. A small tackle 
used in hauling on a rope. 

Hanks. Metal rings 'for at- 
taching sails to stays so 
they will slide easily. 

Heave to. To stop a vessel's 
movement by so arranging 
sails that she will lie head 
to the wind and almost 
stationary. 

Heeling. Tipping to one 
side. 



190 THE BOOK OF THE SAILBOAT 



Hitch. A kind of knot. 

In irons. When headway is 
lost and the boat will not 
answer her helm. 

Jammed. Any rope or other 
object caught so it will not 
move or cannot be readily 
freed. 

Jib. A triangular sail set 
between the mast and bow- 
sprit. 

Jibe or Gybe. To let the 
mainsail swing from one 
side to the other when 
running free. 

Jury mast. A temporary 
mast to replace a mast 
which has been carried 
away. 

Jury rig. Sails set on jury 
masts. 

Kedge. A small anchor. 

Leech. The after edge of a 
fore-and-aft sail. The ends 
of a square sail. 

Lee helm. When a tiller or 
helm must be held to lee- 
ward to prevent the boat 
from falling off the wind. 

Leeward. The direction tow- 
ard which the wind is blow- 
ing. Away "from the wind. 

Leg. The distance sailed on 
a tack in one direction. 

Log. An instrument used to 
measure a boat's speed or 
the distance travelled. A 
record of the ship's travel 
and what has been done 
each day. A book in which 
the log is kept. 



Long leg. The longest course 
sailed when tacking. 

Luff. To bring the boat's 
head to the wind. The 
forward edge of a fore- 
and-aft sail. 

Lying to. Heading close 
into the wind under re- 
duced sail so as to remain 
practically stationary. 

Missing stays. Failure to 
come about when tacking. 

Moor. To secure by anchors 
or cables. 

Moorings. A spot where a 
vessel is kept when at 
anchor. 

Mouse. To secure by means 
of spun yarn or line to 
prevent its becoming de- 
tached. A seizing about a 
hook. 

Off and on. Approaching on 
one tack and bearing off 
on the other especially 
when approaching or near 

• land. 

Offing. Out to sea. Sea 
room. 

Overhaul. To slack up a 
rope and haul it through 
blocks. To straighten out 
a line and arrange it. To 
examine and make right. 
To overtake. 

Painter. The line by which 
a boat is made fast and 
which is attached to the 
bow. 

Part. To break or pull 
apart. 



NAUTICAL TERMS AND MEANINGS 191 



Pay. To coat with pitch or 
tar. To let out rope or 
cable. 

Pay off. To recede from 
the wind. To bring a 
boat's head around to 
catch the wind. 

Pendant. A short piece o'f 
rope. 

Pennant. A narrow flag or 
streamer. 

Pooped. To be struck by a 
sea which comes over the 
stern. 

Port. Left hand. Also 
sometimes called Larboard. 

Preventer sheet. A sheet 
used to relieve unusual 
strain. 

Preventer stay. A tempo- 
rary or movable stay set 
up to relieve a strain on 
the rigging under certain 
conditions. 

Quarter. Part between beam 
and stern. 

Rake. The lean or cant of 
a mast or other object 
from the perpendicular. 

Reaching. Sailing with wind 
abeam. 

Reef. To reduce the area of 
a sail. A line or group of 
sunken rocks. 

Reeve. To run a rope 
through anything. 

Rooting. Burying by the 
head. 

Run. The submerged after- 
part of the hull. 

Scud. To run before a 
wind. A kind of cloud. 



Seize. To make fast or bind. 

Selvage. A strap made o'f 
yarns loosely bound to- 
gether. 

Sheave. The wheel within 
a block or any wheel over 
which a rope runs. 

Sheer. To vary from a di- 
rect course. The curve 
from bow to stern hori- 
zontally. 

Sheet. A rope attached to 
a sail and by which the 
sail is held and worked. 
On a square sail, ropes 
which spread the sails. 

Snorter or snotter. A rope 
strap into which the heel 
of a sprit is slipped. 

Soldier's wind. A beam 
wind. 

Spill. To throw the wind 
out of a sail. 

Splice. A method of join- 
ing two objects together 
so the joint is no larger 
than the rest of the object. 

Spring. To crack or bend a 
spar. A rope made fast 
to a cable, to some spot 
ashore, to a buoy or moor- 
ing, or to another vessel 
and then led aft in order 
to swing a vessel's stern in 
any desired direction. To 
start a plank. To start a 
leak. 

Sprit. A light spar used to 
extend a sail. 

Squatting. Settling down by 
the stern. 

Starboard. The right-hand 
side. 

Stay. A rope or wire used 
as a support to a spar. 



192 THE BOOK OF THE SAILBOAT 



Sternboard. To move back- 
ward stern first. 

Tack. To proceed against 
the wind by zigzags. The 
forward corner of a fore- 
and-aft sail. 

Tackle. Any arrangement 
of ropes and blocks. 

Taut. Tight. 

Truck. The top of a mast. 

TJnbend. To cast off; to 
unfasten. 

Veer. To turn. To pay out 
cable. 

Wake. The track left by a 
vessel in the water. 

"Watch. A division of the 
crew. The length oi time 
a man is on duty. 



Wear. To turn a boat's 
head into the wind and 
then around until she has 
the wind on the opposite 
side. 

Weather helm. When a til- 
ler or helm must be kept 
to windward to prevent a 
boat from flying into the 
wind. 

Weathering. Surviving any- 
thing, such as a gale or 
storm. Getting to wind- 
ward of anything. 

Weigh. To hoist or lift, es- 
pecially to lift the anchor. 

Wind's eye. The exact di- 
rection from which the 
wind blows. 

Yaw. To swerve wildly or 
violently from a true 
course despite the action 
of the rudder. 

(i) 



StP 11333 



LIBRARY OF CONGRESS 



029 708 251 6 

I 



m 









ff 



IP 






8H 



^0M 
■ 

u 




IP' 

■ 



